Kentucky Retirement Systems Raises Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 54.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,942 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 81,851 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for 2.0% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $56,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,704,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after purchasing an additional 69,108,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,967,947,000 after buying an additional 1,738,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,924,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into next-generation oncology. J&J completed its $1 billion cash acquisition of Firefly Bio, gaining the Firelink™ degrader antibody conjugate platform. The technology is intended to support targeted treatments for difficult solid tumors, including KRAS-driven cancers, and strengthens the company’s long-term oncology pipeline. Firefly Bio acquisition article
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic collaboration adds autoimmune-disease potential. J&J agreed to work with Sail Biomedicines on in vivo CAR-T therapies designed to reset the immune system and treat immune-mediated diseases. The agreement includes $785 million in initial payments and an exclusive option to acquire Sail for $2.58 billion, giving J&J access to a potentially transformative platform. Wall Street Journal Sail collaboration article
• Positive Sentiment: Operating momentum remains solid. J&J’s latest quarterly results exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue up 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion and earnings per share of $2.90 versus a $2.84 consensus estimate. Analysts also raised some longer-term earnings forecasts, suggesting confidence in the underlying business. Johnson & Johnson earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Talc settlement may reduce legal uncertainty. J&J’s proposed payment of up to $5.5 billion would address roughly 76,000 ovarian-cancer claims, potentially removing a major litigation overhang. However, the agreement requires at least 95% claimant participation and does not eliminate all future litigation risk. Reuters talc litigation article
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 profit forecast was lowered. J&J cited the combined financial impact of the Firefly acquisition and Sail agreement when reducing its 2026 profit forecast. The lower near-term earnings outlook appears to be the most direct reason for investor caution today, despite the deals’ potential long-term strategic value. Reuters profit forecast article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $284.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Leerink Partners upgraded 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.39.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. This trade represents a 50.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE JNJ opened at $265.71 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $164.23 and a 1 year high of $274.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $640.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

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

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.