Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 8.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 174,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,730 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $42,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson announced FDA approval for its dual-energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF platform, a positive catalyst that could support growth in the company’s medtech business and improve investor confidence in its pipeline. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The stock had recently been pushing to record highs as analysts raised price targets and investors responded to a higher outlook and pre-earnings optimism, suggesting the long-term setup for JNJ remains constructive. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary this week also highlighted JNJ as a defensive healthcare name with steady cash flow, while other pieces focused on valuation, earnings expectations, and healthcare sector comparisons rather than new company-specific setbacks. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive product news, some trading-focused coverage noted unusual put option activity after the recent run-up, indicating that a portion of the market is positioning for a possible pullback. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market recap also described JNJ as declining more than the broader market, reinforcing the idea that the stock is pausing after a strong advance rather than reacting to a major fundamental problem. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $263.52 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $154.80 and a 52-week high of $269.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.52. The company has a market cap of $634.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on JNJ shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Johnson Rice set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.74.

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.