Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Bought by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its Johnson & Johnson stake by 6.1% in the first quarter, buying 24,464 additional shares to bring its holdings to 424,980 shares worth about $103.9 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating on JNJ sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $258.13.
• The stock faces a mix of catalysts: Johnson & Johnson beat Q1 earnings estimates and raised its quarterly dividend, but a court ruling upholding a $45 million mesothelioma verdict renewed legal risk concerns tied to talc litigation.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 424,980 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,464 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $103,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of JNJ. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after buying an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $6,924,523,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $2,005,942,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,436.5% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,473,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,338,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $49,740,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Johnson & Johnson to $263 from $254, signaling continued support for the stock even as the firm kept a neutral rating. Benzinga report on the price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson backed a new heart failure device trial, keeping investor focus on its medtech pipeline and longer-term growth opportunities in electrophysiology and cardiovascular care. JNJ Backs New Heart Failure Device Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continued to highlight JNJ as a strong dividend and defensive healthcare name, with several notes pointing to the company’s earnings consistency and attractive income profile. TipRanks dividend aristocrat article
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also looking ahead to J&J’s upcoming Q2 earnings report, with previews suggesting the company may again beat expectations, but the market is still waiting for actual results. Zacks Q2 earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: An Illinois appellate court affirmed a $45 million mesothelioma verdict against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue tied to talc-related asbestos allegations, renewing legal risk concerns that can weigh on the shares. Illinois Appellate Court Affirms $45 Million Mesothelioma Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. HSBC set a $290.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.13.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE JNJ traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $257.17. The stock had a trading volume of 6,533,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,252,110. 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 has a 1-year low of $154.80 and a 1-year high of $269.43. The company has a market capitalization of $619.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $237.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.05.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 61.97%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.

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