Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price traded up 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $281.07 and last traded at $275.6320. Approximately 7,837,434 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 8,176,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.19.

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS initiated coverage of JNJ with a “Buy” rating and a $320 price target, implying approximately 16% upside from the referenced price. The target reflects increased confidence in Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical pipeline and future growth prospects. J&J Jumps as UBS Lifts Its Target to $320
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson benefited from a stronger healthcare sector, with the NYSE Healthcare Index advancing during Wednesday afternoon trading. Sector-wide buying likely provided additional support for defensive healthcare names. Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Advance Wednesday Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results remain supportive: Johnson & Johnson exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 6.6% year over year. Management’s fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $11.60 to $11.75 also remains broadly aligned with analyst expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson will hold its third-quarter results conference call on October 13. The event gives investors a forthcoming opportunity to assess demand, pipeline progress, guidance and the impact of patent expirations. Johnson & Johnson to Host Investor Conference Call on Third-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to flag multiple headwinds, including declining Stelara sales and additional upcoming loss-of-exclusivity events, weakness in the MedTech business and ongoing talc litigation. These risks could limit growth and pressure margins. J&J Faces Multiple Headwinds: Can the Healthcare Giant Sustain Growth?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analysis notes that Johnson & Johnson replaced substantial lost sales with newer products but retained less than half of the replacement revenue, raising questions about the profitability and durability of its growth transition. Johnson & Johnson Replaced $913 Million In Lost Sales With $2.4 Billion In New Ones

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on JNJ shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus set a $300.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.83.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.6%

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 company has a market capitalization of $664.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.39.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The business had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The business’s 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. Research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.11%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.36, for a total transaction of $3,950,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 194,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,210,615.36. The trade was a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 63,972 shares of company stock worth $16,245,605. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Range Advisory LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 15.8% during the second quarter. Range Advisory LLC now owns 7,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 14,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after buying an additional 3,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 208.7% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% 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.