Erste Group Bank Has Positive Outlook of JNJ FY2026 Earnings

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Johnson & Johnson in a note issued to investors on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $11.68 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $11.56. The consensus estimate for Johnson & Johnson’s current full-year earnings is $11.68 per share.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $263.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Johnson Rice upgraded Johnson & Johnson from an “outperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $258.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.39.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $265.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $640.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 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. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $164.23 and a 52-week high of $274.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $244.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.82.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The business had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Greenberg Financial Group bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $954,000. World Investment Advisors increased 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 worth $33,390,000 after acquiring an additional 26,450 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,410,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,736,000 after purchasing an additional 28,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,853,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $5,792,778.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.11%.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Talc settlement could remove a major legal overhang. J&J proposed paying up to $5.5 billion to resolve roughly 76,000 ovarian-cancer lawsuits tied to its talc products. Although costly, the agreement could improve visibility into future liabilities and end litigation that has weighed on the stock for more than a decade. The deal requires approval from at least 95% of claimants. Reuters talc litigation explainer
• Positive Sentiment: Firefly Bio expands J&J’s oncology pipeline. The company completed its $1 billion cash acquisition of Firefly Bio, gaining its Firelink degrader antibody conjugate platform. The technology is aimed at developing targeted treatments for difficult-to-treat solid tumors, including KRAS-driven cancers. Firefly Bio acquisition announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Sail Biomedicines adds potential long-term growth. J&J agreed to make $785 million in initial payments and received an exclusive option to acquire Sail for $2.58 billion. The collaboration focuses on in vivo CAR-T therapies for autoimmune and other immune-mediated diseases, but the commercial opportunity remains dependent on clinical and regulatory success. Sail Biomedicines collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts see improving longer-term earnings potential. Erste Group raised its 2027 EPS estimate to $12.81 from $12.70, above the current-year consensus of $11.68. However, the estimate does not offset the company’s near-term guidance reduction. Johnson & Johnson analyst estimates
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 profit guidance was lowered. J&J cited the combined financial impact of the Firefly acquisition and Sail partnership. The deals may improve future growth, but upfront spending and added expenses reduce near-term earnings expectations and appear to be the main reason shares have decreased. Reuters profit forecast article

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.