Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC slashed its Johnson & Johnson stake by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,787 shares and leaving it with 9,087 shares worth about $1.88 million.
• Despite some selling by that fund, institutional ownership remains high, with major holders like Vanguard, Wellington, BNY Mellon, Legal & General, and Amundi adding to positions; overall, institutions own 69.55% of JNJ.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive: J&J has a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $253.04, while the company also reported earnings and revenue above expectations and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share.

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 66.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,087 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,787 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,731,074 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company's stock worth $4,789,914,000 after buying an additional 956,239 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company's stock worth $4,568,313,000 after buying an additional 835,146 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,450,064 shares of the company's stock worth $3,606,431,000 after buying an additional 532,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company's stock worth $2,512,719,000 after buying an additional 2,163,838 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson announced it will hold its second-quarter earnings conference call on July 15, reinforcing near-term focus on results, guidance, and management commentary. Johnson & Johnson to Host Investor Conference Call on Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: DePuy Synthes, J&J’s orthopedic business, struck an exclusive distribution deal for the NOVOSIS bone graft product, adding another growth-oriented medtech move. DePuy Synthes secures exclusive NOVOSIS bone graft distribution partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted J&J as one of several large-cap pharma stocks worth holding as the industry recovery accelerates, supporting sentiment toward the stock. 4 Large-Cap Pharma Stocks to Buy as Industry Recovery Accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: J&J was reported to have an average brokerage recommendation of “Moderate Buy,” suggesting analysts remain constructive on the shares. Johnson & Johnson Receives Average Recommendation of Moderate Buy from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, but the transcript does not point to a fresh, stock-moving surprise by itself. Johnson & Johnson Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Talc litigation remains an overhang, with new verdict headlines reinforcing legal risk that could pressure valuation multiples. Assessing Johnson & Johnson Valuation After Guidance Raise Growth Initiatives And Talc Litigation Update
• Negative Sentiment: Broader healthcare weakness also weighed on sentiment, with pharma and healthcare stocks described as a drag on the market in recent trading. Dow Gives Back Early Gains. Healthcare Stocks Are a Drag.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.5%

JNJ stock opened at $231.38 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $149.04 and a 12-month high of $251.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $556.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $233.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released 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. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The company's revenue 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, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase 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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