Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 3,863 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Merit Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 209,661 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,863 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $53,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of JNJ. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 74,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,929,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares during the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 75,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 159.1% in the 2nd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PCB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% during the second quarter. PCB Capital LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.22.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $262.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $632.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 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 $172.72 and a 52-week high of $274.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.06.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson raised its quarterly dividend by 3.1%, bringing the annual payout to $5.36 per share and extending its dividend-growth streak to 64 consecutive years. The increase reinforces JNJ’s appeal to income-focused and defensive investors. Johnson & Johnson Has Increased Its Dividend for 64 Consecutive Years
• Positive Sentiment: JNJ is advancing seltorexant into late-stage development for major depressive disorder, potentially adding a new growth product to its pharmaceutical pipeline. The company also signed a multiyear partnership with ACCESS to expand adoption of cardiac electrophysiology technology in ambulatory surgery centers, supporting growth in higher-value medtech markets. Johnson & Johnson Advances Seltorexant and Expands Outpatient Cardiac Care
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson’s sale of rights to botaretigene sparoparvovec to MeiraGTx for $25 million indicates continued portfolio streamlining and could allow JNJ to focus capital and resources on its most promising medicines and technologies. MeiraGTx Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Results
• Neutral Sentiment: JNJ is attracting attention as investors favor defensive blue-chip healthcare companies while awaiting inflation data. Its low-beta profile and strong dividend history may support demand, though broader interest-rate and macroeconomic expectations remain important for valuation. Johnson & Johnson In Focus as Defensive Blue Chips Draw Attention
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run, JNJ is trading near its annual high with a relatively demanding earnings multiple. Analysts note that much of the company’s quality and defensive appeal may already be reflected in the share price, raising the risk of limited upside or profit-taking. JNJ Keeps Climbing. Should You Climb On?

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $5,792,778.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,779,963.81. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,972 shares of company stock valued at $12,295,205. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson 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.