Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 1.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $263.71 and last traded at $263.43. Approximately 6,332,560 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 8,427,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.27.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: J&J’s Q2 results and raised outlook are helping sentiment, with the company highlighted as one of several firms lifting guidance after a strong quarter. Q2 Earnings: Guidance Upgrades Push These 3 Stocks Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson said its Innovative Medicine unit delivered strong Q2 growth despite the Stelara patent loss, suggesting the pharma business is holding up better than feared. J&J’s Innovative Medicine Unit Proves Its Resilience in Q2
• Positive Sentiment: Positive late-stage data for TECVAYLI + TALVEY in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma adds confidence in J&J’s oncology pipeline and supports longer-term growth prospects. TECVAYLI® + TALVEY® reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 89% and the risk of death by 62% in earlier-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA’s De Novo authorization for the OTTAVA robotic surgical system gives J&J a new foothold in U.S. soft-tissue robotic surgery, broadening its medtech growth optionality. Should FDA’s De Novo Nod for OTTAVA Robotic System Require Action From Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several commentary pieces praised J&J as a defensive dividend stock and a steadier name during market volatility, which supports the company’s defensive profile but does not change fundamentals directly. 3 Dividend Stocks Baby Boomers Should Own for the Rest of Their Lives
• Neutral Sentiment: A federal judge cast doubt on a large batch of talc-cancer claims, which may reduce legal overhang for J&J, though the litigation is still ongoing and not fully resolved. US judge casts doubt on 69,000 cases alleging J&J talc caused cancer

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $284.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, July 17th. 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.30.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $634.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.13.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.86% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.11%.

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 value of $2,411,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,704,364,000 after buying an additional 1,663,782 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after acquiring an additional 69,108,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,967,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $6,924,523,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.