Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 33,459,884 Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Norges Bank bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter, purchasing 33,459,884 shares worth about $6.9 billion. The position represents roughly 1.39% of J&J and makes it Norges Bank’s 14th-largest holding.
• Johnson & Johnson continues to see positive clinical and regulatory momentum, including encouraging Phase 1/1b lung cancer data for RYBREVANT plus LAZCLUZE, strong Phase 3 TECVAYLI results in multiple myeloma, and an FDA label expansion for TREMFYA in psoriatic arthritis.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and raised its dividend to $1.34 per share, while Wall Street remains moderately bullish with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target around $253.04.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 33,459,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,924,523,000. Johnson & Johnson makes up about 0.7% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Norges Bank owned 1.39% of Johnson & Johnson as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 632.0% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 89,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,536,000 after purchasing an additional 77,000 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the third 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 lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% during the third 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 purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 3.2% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on JNJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson reported updated Phase 1/1b data showing RYBREVANT plus LAZCLUZE delivered prolonged clinical benefit in atypical EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, with median overall survival nearing 3.5 years. This strengthens the case for the company’s lung cancer pipeline. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New Phase 3 MajesTEC-9 data showed TECVAYLI improved progression-free and overall survival versus standard of care in relapsed multiple myeloma, reinforcing Johnson & Johnson’s momentum in blood-cancer treatments and expanding confidence in the drug’s earlier-line use. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved a label expansion for TREMFYA in psoriatic arthritis, adding evidence that it can help stop structural joint damage. That makes TREMFYA more differentiated in a large immunology market and may support future sales growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst and market commentary pieces noted that JNJ has outperformed the Dow and that Wall Street sentiment remains moderately optimistic, but these were mostly retrospective and did not add new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson also announced it will host its second-quarter earnings conference call on July 15, which is routine corporate communication rather than a price-moving event on its own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary highlighted that J&J still faces exposure from patent-loss pressure on older products, even though oncology growth and MedTech demand are helping offset it. This remains an overhang on the stock’s longer-term earnings mix. Article Title

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $225.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $542.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.27. The firm's fifty day moving average is $233.02 and its 200 day moving average is $224.82. 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 52-week low of $149.04 and a 52-week high of $251.71.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion for 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%. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. 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. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is currently 61.97%.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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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