Gradient Investments LLC Acquires 13,737 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 152,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,737 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $38,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Sierra Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the 1st 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 grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend appeal remains a key support. Recent coverage highlights JNJ as a blue-chip income stock with a long record of dividend growth and defensive fundamentals, which may attract investors seeking stability amid elevated interest rates. Why is Johnson & Johnson drawing dividend attention today? Top dividend stocks to buy and hold
• Positive Sentiment: Reported talc settlement removes a major legal overhang. JNJ agreed to a reported $5.5 billion settlement covering tens of thousands of talc lawsuits. While costly, resolving the claims could improve legal and financial visibility and reduce uncertainty surrounding the company. Johnson & Johnson reaches $5.5 billion talc settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Citi issued a Buy rating, adding to the favorable analyst backdrop. JNJ’s latest reported quarter also exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 6.6% year over year and earnings surpassing consensus estimates. Johnson & Johnson gets a Buy from Citi
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage says JNJ has remained steady during a division transition. The company is also investing more than $1 billion to expand U.S. contact-lens production, a potential long-term growth initiative, although near-term returns remain uncertain. Why Johnson & Johnson is steady amid a division transition
• Negative Sentiment: The talc agreement represents a substantial cash and earnings burden, and investors may continue evaluating whether the settlement fully resolves future claims and related costs.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $5,792,778.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $4,090,926.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,458. The trade was a 48.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 48,972 shares of company stock worth $12,295,205 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus set a $300.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.22.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $259.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $248.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $239.73. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $170.39 and a 1-year high of $274.90. The firm has a market cap of $624.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Johnson & Johnson 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.