Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $258.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.39.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $256.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $618.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.31. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $164.23 and a 52-week high of $274.90.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $5,792,778.58. Following the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Silver Coast Investments LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% in 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 period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the first quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately bullish: JNJ’s median analyst price target is about $263, with several targets above that level, including Citigroup’s $298 target. Argus Research also issued a Buy rating, while Erste Group raised its 2026 EPS forecast to $11.68, close to the $11.69 consensus. Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish on Johnson & Johnson Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology and immunology expansion strengthens the growth pipeline: J&J completed its $1 billion acquisition of Firefly Bio, adding a degrader antibody-conjugate platform targeting difficult solid tumors, including KRAS-driven cancers. Johnson & Johnson Completes Acquisition of Firefly Bio
• Positive Sentiment: Promising regulatory and shareholder-return news: The FDA granted Priority Review to subcutaneous RYBREVANT FASPRO for advanced head and neck cancer, potentially expanding a key oncology franchise. JNJ also increased its dividend for the 64th consecutive year and is pursuing a long-term $100 billion revenue goal. RYBREVANT FASPRO Receives FDA Priority Review
• Neutral Sentiment: In-vivo CAR-T investment adds potential but carries execution risk: JNJ will make up to $785 million in initial payments to Sail Biomedicines and has an option to acquire it for $2.58 billion. The technology could create new autoimmune and oncology treatments, but commercialization is still uncertain. J&J Ventures Further Into In Vivo CAR-T
• Negative Sentiment: The $5.5 billion talc settlement weighs on sentiment: The proposed agreement would resolve roughly 76,000 ovarian-cancer claims, subject to 95% claimant participation. Although it could reduce litigation uncertainty, investors are focused on the substantial cash obligation, including up to $3 billion in 2027, and execution risk. Johnson & Johnson to Pay $5.5 Billion to Resolve Talc Litigation

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.