Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $255.66 and last traded at $252.9290. Approximately 10,077,541 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 8,460,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.97.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson beat Q2 EPS and revenue estimates and raised its 2026 guidance, signaling better-than-expected overall business momentum. J&J Stock Falls Despite Strong Q2 Beat & Higher 2026 View: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with Guggenheim reaffirming a Buy rating and setting a $270 price target, implying further upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings call and transcript coverage suggest management is emphasizing confidence in growth and pipeline momentum, but investors are still digesting the details. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, shares sold off because the MedTech unit underwhelmed, indicating the market wants broader, more consistent growth across all segments. J&J Stock Falls Despite Strong Q2 Beat & Higher 2026 View: Here’s Why

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on JNJ. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $254.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.30.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $239.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $608.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.86% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

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 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 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Greenberg Financial Group bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 161,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,450 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $554,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 45,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,853,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.