Encore Global Management LP Takes Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Encore Global Management LP purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,400,000. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 3.1% of Encore Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blueline Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.30.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $266.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $642.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $164.23 and a 12 month high of $274.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.40.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Talc settlement removes a major overhang. J&J proposed paying up to $5.5 billion to resolve approximately 76,000 remaining U.S. lawsuits alleging that its talc products caused ovarian cancer. Investors appear to view the agreement as reducing years of legal uncertainty and improving visibility into future liabilities. The deal requires participation by at least 95% of claimants, with payments expected to begin in 2027, so final resolution is not yet guaranteed. Reuters talc settlement article
• Positive Sentiment: J&J delivered strong second-quarter results and raised its outlook. Revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion, exceeding expectations, while adjusted earnings per share of $2.90 topped the consensus estimate. Full-year 2026 guidance was set at $11.60–$11.75 per share, supporting confidence in the company’s operating performance. Yahoo Finance earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reiterated Buy ratings following the settlement news, with price targets remaining above the recent trading level. One analyst said progress on the talc resolution removes a significant valuation discount. TipRanks Goldman Sachs rating article
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement terms still carry execution risk. The proposal involves a substantial cash commitment and could leave future lawsuits unaffected. Its effectiveness depends on claimant participation and court-related processes. CNN settlement article
• Negative Sentiment: MedTech growth was comparatively softer. Cardiovascular performance lagged in the second quarter, although stronger Vision, Surgery and Orthopedics results and new product launches may support improvement in the second half. Zacks MedTech article
• Negative Sentiment: An executive sale is a minor sentiment headwind. EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares worth approximately $5.8 million, reducing her direct position by about half. SEC insider transaction filing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. This represents a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.