Leuthold Group LLC Invests $6.62 Million in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Leuthold Group LLC opened a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter, buying 31,963 shares worth about $6.62 million.
• Institutional interest in J&J remains high, with hedge funds and other large investors owning 69.55% of the stock and several firms recently adding to or starting positions.
• J&J is seeing mixed market signals: analysts mostly remain Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $253.04, while the stock is down about 1.7% and insiders have recently sold shares.

Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,615,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 632.0% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 89,183 shares of the company's stock worth $16,536,000 after acquiring an additional 77,000 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 130,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,769 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,383,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares in the last quarter. Greenberg Financial Group acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $954,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,926,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $913,484,000 after purchasing an additional 151,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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%

NYSE JNJ opened at $226.81 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $149.04 and a 12 month high of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $545.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.27. The company's fifty day moving average price is $235.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,700.17. This trade represents a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.04.

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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