Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) were up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $259.32 and last traded at $257.7750. Approximately 6,297,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 8,394,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JNJ. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.22.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $624.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $247.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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 11.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction 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 represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the second quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the first quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

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.