Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Jumps 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 1.4% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $276.41 and last traded at $276.1410. Approximately 8,805,949 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 7,957,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted accelerated approval to RYBREVANT FASPRO for certain adults with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer whose disease progressed after specified prior treatments. The company said the supporting trial showed a 42% response rate; the approval expands the drug’s reach beyond lung cancer into a new treatment setting. Company FDA approval announcement
• Positive Sentiment: J&J’s Innovative Medicine unit recorded 7.7% Q3 sales growth to $16.76 billion, with established drugs and new launches offsetting generic competition and patent-related pressure. The growth suggests the business is finding ways to counter some loss-of-exclusivity headwinds. Zacks report on Innovative Medicine sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating investor claims involving J&J. The announcement provides no details about the claims or their merits, so its financial significance is unclear, but it may draw attention to legal risk. Pomerantz investigation announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Freedom Capital raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.92.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $664.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $265.71 and its 200-day moving average is $248.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 16.20%. The company had revenue of $25.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 81.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 33,597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.74, for a total value of $9,230,439.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,991,308.78. The trade was a 56.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.36, for a total transaction of $3,950,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 194,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,210,615.36. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,967,399,000. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 127.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 6,060,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393,981 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,588,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,736,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513,321 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,406,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,277,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,837,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,927,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,070 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a global healthcare company that develops and sells prescription medicines and medical technologies. Its business is organized around two segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech.

Innovative Medicine develops treatments in areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and pulmonary hypertension. MedTech provides products and technologies for fields such as surgery, orthopedics, and vision care.

Founded in 1886, Johnson & Johnson serves patients and healthcare professionals in markets around the world.