Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $228.67 and last traded at $228.3240. Approximately 7,214,450 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 8,343,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.24.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

Here are the key news stories impacting Johnson & Johnson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Johnson & Johnson’s lack of major patent expirations and pointed to its billion-dollar drugs and growing businesses as reasons to own the stock. Jim Cramer Highlights Johnson & Johnson Having No Big Patent Expirations
• Positive Sentiment: ASCO 2026 updates underscored Johnson & Johnson’s expanding specialty-drug pipeline, with encouraging data in autoimmunity, oncology, and myeloma that could support longer-term revenue growth. ASCO 2026 Data Underscore Johnson & Johnson’s Expanding Specialty Drug Story
• Positive Sentiment: Separate market coverage noted Johnson & Johnson has been outperforming the broader market recently, reinforcing investor confidence in the defensive healthcare name. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Newsweek named Johnson & Johnson among the world’s greenest companies for 2026, which is supportive for ESG-focused investors but unlikely to move the stock on its own. Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, MetLife Named Among Newsweek’s World’s Greenest Companies 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ongoing headwinds, including Stelara erosion, China MedTech pressure, and talc litigation, though J&J is still targeting $100 billion in revenue and faster growth in 2026. Can JNJ Sustain Growth Amid Patent, Legal and China Risks?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Johnson Rice upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $231.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $560.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blueline Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of products across pharmaceuticals, medical devices and previously consumer health. Founded in 1886 by the Johnson family, the company has grown into a global healthcare organization with operations and sales in many countries around the world.

The company’s pharmaceuticals business, organized largely under its Janssen research and development organization, focuses on prescription medicines across therapeutic areas such as immunology, infectious disease, oncology and neuroscience.