Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. cut its Johnson & Johnson stake by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,887 shares and leaving it with 154,793 shares valued at about $32.0 million.
• Johnson & Johnson posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $2.70 per share on $24.06 billion in sales, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share.
• Wall Street remains constructive on J&J, with analysts giving the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $253.04, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,793 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,887 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $32,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the company's stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Campbell Deegan Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the company's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson to Outperform and lifted its price target, citing stronger growth prospects from upcoming drug launches and broader oncology/immunology momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New clinical and commercial updates around CAPLYTA, cardiology, Crohn’s disease, and robotics may support confidence in J&J’s innovation pipeline. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J’s stock remains below some recent highs and has been consolidating after earnings, suggesting investors are still weighing valuation and execution. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A bladder-cancer survey highlighted the significant burden of current standard treatments, which may reinforce concerns about unmet needs and the pace of innovation in that area. Article Title

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Argus lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $230.61 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 52 week low of $147.33 and a 52 week high of $251.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $555.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.27. The company's 50-day moving average price is $235.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.76.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 32.60%. The business's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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