Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $270.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $251.76 and last traded at $253.1990, with a volume of 1202883 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $244.88.

JNJ has been the subject of several other research reports. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its price target on Johnson & Johnson to $270 from $266 and reiterated a buy rating, implying additional upside from current levels. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: J&J said its TECVAYLI (teclistamab) plus daratumumab regimen received a CHMP recommendation in Europe, advancing the therapy as a potential standard of care for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, a positive catalyst for the company’s oncology pipeline. Manila Times
• Positive Sentiment: The company also expanded its cardiac ablation offering in Europe with the Dual Energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF Platform, supporting continued medtech revenue growth. Business Wire
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted J&J as a defensive dividend stock and “buy” idea, reinforcing its reputation as a stable income name rather than signaling a major new catalyst. 247WallSt
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are also looking ahead to J&J’s next quarterly report, with expectations for another single-digit earnings increase, which keeps sentiment constructive but is still ahead of the actual results. Barchart

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Greenberg Financial Group bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $954,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,030,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,835,000 after acquiring an additional 208,765 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 161,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,450 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 59,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,047,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 95,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,738,000 after purchasing an additional 8,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $610.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $230.60 and a 200 day moving average of $229.25.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.34 dividend. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

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.