Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading 1.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $268.80 and last traded at $266.3520. 9,465,674 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 8,418,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.40.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Proposed $5.5 billion talc settlement reduces a major overhang. J&J agreed to settle approximately 76,000 remaining U.S. lawsuits alleging its talc products caused ovarian cancer. The proposal follows a federal court ruling that questioned whether plaintiffs had sufficient evidence of causation, and investors appear to view a defined settlement as preferable to years of uncertain litigation. The deal requires participation from at least 95% of claimants and would involve payments beginning in 2027. Reuters talc settlement article
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations. Revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion, while adjusted EPS of $2.90 topped the $2.84 consensus estimate. J&J reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $11.60 to $11.75, supporting confidence in its underlying pharmaceutical and healthcare operations. Yahoo Finance J&J earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Profit estimates and analyst sentiment improved. Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS forecast to $12.81 from $12.70, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley maintained Buy ratings after the settlement announcement. Analyst rating article
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement execution remains uncertain. The agreement could cost up to $5.5 billion, requires broad claimant approval, and does not necessarily eliminate future claims. Fortune settlement article
• Negative Sentiment: MedTech growth was mixed. Cardiovascular sales lagged in the second quarter, although Vision, Surgery and Orthopedics and new product launches may support improvement later this year. Zacks MedTech article

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on JNJ. Freedom Capital raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC set a $290.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.39.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.40. The company has a market cap of $644.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its 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 business had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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 predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.11%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $5,792,778.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,779,963.81. This trade represents a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after buying an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,924,523,000. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,005,942,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 24,436.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,473,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,338,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.