Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.3% – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $208.26 and last traded at $207.4660. Approximately 7,542,423 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 7,862,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $204.79.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its JNJ price target on strength in key drugs, signaling analyst confidence in the company’s mid-term revenue drivers. Barclays Raises Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Target on Strength in Key Drugs
• Positive Sentiment: Deal with the Trump administration gives JNJ tariff exemptions and accelerates a reported ~$55 billion plan to expand U.S. manufacturing — this reduces tariff risk, improves supply-chain resilience and could support margins over time. J&J Strikes Drug Pricing Deal With Trump, Gets Tariff Reprieve
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical and product-development catalysts: mid-stage success for nipocalimab in SLE and J&J MedTech’s Ottava surgical robot submission to the FDA could drive future revenue and sentiment if approvals/commercialization progress. J&J succeeds in mid-stage trial for SLE therapy Johnson & Johnson MedTech submits Ottava surgical robot to FDA
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwind: healthcare stocks have been rallying and JNJ sits in many health-care ETFs, which can provide passive-buying support independent of company-specific news. This ETF Is Proof That the Healthcare Rebound Is Real
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships and collaborations (e.g., Lexeo on cardiac gene therapy) expand J&J’s pipeline exposure but are longer-term and incremental to near-term earnings. Lexeo Therapeutics Announces Research Collaboration with Johnson & Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: JNJ agreed to cut U.S. drug prices as part of the government deal — that creates near- and medium-term revenue/price pressure for affected medicines and is a headline risk for investors focused on margins. Johnson & Johnson reaches deal with US government to lower drug prices
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed several near-term EPS estimates (Q1–Q4 and FY2027) marginally — this reflects some analyst caution after the pricing agreement and contributes to downward pressure on the stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $240.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $213.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $190.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.33.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $492.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $202.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 30th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.73% and a net margin of 27.26%.The business had revenue of $24.02 billion during the quarter. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.800-10.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 50.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clark Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,234,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,638,000 after acquiring an additional 94,957 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 234,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,566 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 4.6% during the third quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 138,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,667,000 after purchasing an additional 6,143 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.