Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Position Lifted by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 935,946 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 149,592 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $135,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,357,552.70. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of JNJ traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $153.58. 3,687,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,937,407. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.17. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $140.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $181.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $171.50.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.