Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $259.32 and last traded at $257.7750. 6,297,148 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 8,394,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.93.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA cleared J&J’s OTTAVA robotic-assisted surgery system, marking the company’s entry into surgical robotics. The approval gives J&J a potential long-term growth platform alongside its established medical-device and pharmaceutical businesses. Johnson & Johnson Gets FDA Nod for OTTAVA
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo analysts reportedly expect J&J’s stock to rise, adding support to the recent bullish sentiment around the company. Johnson & Johnson Stock Price Expected to Rise
• Positive Sentiment: J&J was highlighted as a “Strong Buy” Dividend Aristocrat for dependable income. Its reputation for consistent dividends may attract investors seeking defensive, cash-generating companies while market valuations remain elevated. Three Strong Buy Dividend Aristocrat Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Jennifer Taubert will retire as executive vice president and worldwide chairman of Innovative Medicine after more than 21 years at J&J. Tom Cavanaugh is scheduled to succeed her in September. The transition follows significant growth in the pharmaceutical business but introduces a leadership change investors will monitor. Jennifer Taubert to Retire
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst described OTTAVA as a potential growth catalyst rather than a serious competitive threat to Intuitive Surgical, which supports the view that J&J’s robotics strategy can expand its addressable market. Analyst Reiterates Buy on Intuitive Surgical

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $282.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.48.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $621.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $246.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $5,792,778.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

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