Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $275.53 and last traded at $275.6790, with a volume of 1054323 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $271.11.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: FDA clearance expands the robotic-surgery opportunity. The FDA cleared J&J’s AI-powered MONARCH QUEST 3 bronchoscopy update, adding enhanced planning, navigation, imaging and procedure-review capabilities. The approval could broaden adoption of J&J’s robotic lung-diagnostics platform and reinforce its MedTech growth strategy. J&J secures FDA clearance for MONARCH QUEST 3
• Positive Sentiment: Recent financial performance exceeded expectations. Second-quarter revenue rose 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion, above the $25.06 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $2.90 also beat expectations of $2.84, and J&J raised its 2026 outlook to $11.60–$11.75 in adjusted EPS. Johnson & Johnson earnings and outlook
• Positive Sentiment: New pharmaceutical products may offset Stelara pressure. J&J’s immunology and neuroscience franchises are emerging as growth drivers as newer medicines help mitigate the impact of Stelara’s loss of exclusivity. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 3.1% to $1.34, marking its 64th consecutive annual increase and supporting its income-investor appeal. J&J’s growth franchises
• Neutral Sentiment: Call-option volume was 29% above average, indicating increased short-term bullish positioning but potentially greater volatility. Analysts remain generally constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, although the median recent price target of $263 is below the stock’s recent trading range.
• Negative Sentiment: Executive Vice President Jennifer Taubert sold 15,000 shares for approximately $3.95 million, reducing her position by 7.16%. Reports also show no open-market insider purchases and multiple executive sales over the past six months, a trend that could weigh on sentiment even though such transactions may reflect personal financial planning. SEC insider transaction filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.22.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.91. The stock has a market cap of $660.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The company had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’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, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 62.11%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $4,090,926.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,367,458. The trade was a 48.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 63,972 shares of company stock worth $16,245,605 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 1,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 73,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after buying an additional 6,584 shares during the period. 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.