QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 28,197 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 416,978 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,197 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 1.1% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $101,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,704,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings 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 worth $1,436,633,000 after buying an additional 69,108,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,967,947,000 after buying an additional 1,738,292 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,924,523,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are buying JNJ ahead of earnings, helped by a higher company outlook, a recent analyst price-target increase, and expectations for another solid quarter. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Could Be 34% Below Fair Value Following IMAAVY Update
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary says JNJ’s recent record run reflects rising price targets and strong institutional buying, reinforcing the bullish view on the stock. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Surges Past Record High as Wall Street Raises Price Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect J&J to report higher second-quarter earnings, which is helping sentiment into the July 15 earnings release. Johnson & Johnson Likely To Report Higher Q2 Earnings; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles continue to frame Johnson & Johnson as a defensive healthcare name with dependable dividend income, which may support holding interest but is not a direct catalyst. Why Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a Great Dividend Stock Right Now
• Negative Sentiment: One market note highlighted unusual put option activity after JNJ’s runup, suggesting some traders are positioning for a pullback or near-term volatility. Unusual Put Option Activity in Johnson & Johnson After JNJ Stock’s Recent Runup

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Johnson Rice set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Leerink Partners raised Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.13.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $267.35 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.13. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $154.21 and a 52-week high of $269.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $643.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% 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.