Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 4% After Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price rose 4% during trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $270.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $255.11 and last traded at $254.6420. 16,200,679 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 91% from the average daily volume of 8,502,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.88.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on JNJ. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on Johnson & Johnson to $270 from $266 and reiterated a Buy rating, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment after recent strength in the shares. Benzinga reference
• Positive Sentiment: The company said new data from its IMAAVY (nipocalimab-aahu) program support sustained disease control in generalized myasthenia gravis, adding to optimism around its immunology pipeline and future growth prospects. PR Newswire reference
• Positive Sentiment: European regulators also issued a CHMP recommendation advancing TECVAYLI plus daratumumab as a potential standard of care in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, which could help support J&J’s oncology franchise. Article reference
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market commentary also points to healthcare stocks like Johnson & Johnson becoming a haven for investors rotating out of tech, which is helping lift sentiment across the sector. MarketWatch reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also highlighted J&J as a “best stock for beginners” and a dependable dividend name, but those are more general reputation pieces than immediate stock-moving catalysts. Article reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are still looking for only single-digit earnings growth ahead of the next quarterly report, so while expectations remain solid, the near-term upside may depend on continued pipeline and product execution. Article reference

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Sierra Capital LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the first quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $612.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.26. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.25.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is 61.97%.

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.