AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 70,893 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd sharply reduced its Johnson & Johnson stake in the fourth quarter, selling 70,893 shares and cutting its holdings by 79.5% to 18,290 shares worth about $3.8 million.
• Several other large institutional investors added to their positions, and institutions now own 69.55% of J&J’s stock, while insiders have sold 30,142 shares over the last 90 days.
• Johnson & Johnson reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $2.70 and revenue of $24.06 billion, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share, and continues to draw generally positive analyst sentiment with an average Moderate Buy rating.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 79.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,290 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,893 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company's stock worth $4,789,914,000 after purchasing an additional 956,239 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company's stock worth $4,568,313,000 after purchasing an additional 835,146 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,450,064 shares of the company's stock worth $3,606,431,000 after purchasing an additional 532,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company's stock worth $2,512,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total value of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,540,469.77. The trade was a 45.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.04.

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to Outperform, which can help investor sentiment and suggests the firm sees more upside from current levels. Leerink Partners upgrades Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Positive Sentiment: A new article says J&J’s story is shifting as newer drugs such as Icotyde, Inlexzo, Tecvayli and Tremfya gain attention, while a valuation update nudged fair value slightly higher. That points to continued pipeline progress as a key long-term driver. How The Story For Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Is Shifting With New Drugs And Legal Twists
• Positive Sentiment: CAPLYTA data highlighted favorable efficacy and safety versus competing antipsychotics, reinforcing the value of J&J’s mental-health franchise and broader pipeline depth. CAPLYTA Data Highlights Johnson & Johnson Valuation And Mental Health Story
• Neutral Sentiment: MeiraGTx reported an asset purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson for bota-vec, a transaction that appears more strategic than immediately material for earnings, but it shows J&J remains active in bolt-on pipeline deals. MeiraGTx Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent bladder-cancer survey coverage reinforces the need for better therapies, which supports the market’s broader view that J&J’s oncology and urology pipeline could have room to grow, though the report itself does not change fundamentals immediately. Groundbreaking global survey captures the significant patient burden experienced with current standard-of-care bladder cancer treatments, underscoring urgency for continued innovation
• Negative Sentiment: Articles note Johnson & Johnson has been down since its last earnings report, indicating some investors remain cautious despite the company’s stable fundamentals and defensive profile. Why Is Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Down 3.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $226.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $545.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.27. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $149.04 and a 1-year high of $251.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $235.13 and a 200 day moving average of $221.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.Johnson & Johnson's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.12%.

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.

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