Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 28,370 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson in Q4 by 28,370 shares (a 0.8% increase), owning 3,410,177 shares worth about $705.7 million (0.14% of JNJ) after the purchase, per its SEC filing.
• Johnson & Johnson beat Q1 estimates on both EPS ($2.70 vs. $2.68) and revenue (up 9.9% year‑over‑year), set FY2026 EPS guidance of $11.45–$11.65, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 ($5.36 annualized, ~2.4% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,410,177 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,370 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Johnson & Johnson worth $705,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,731,074 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 545.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,865,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $716,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266,354 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,512,719,000 after buying an additional 2,163,838 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,584,162 shares of the company's stock worth $664,575,000 after buying an additional 2,000,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth approximately $367,467,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $224.47 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $238.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.38. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $146.12 and a 52-week high of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.27.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $24.06 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a boost from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 60.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total value of $324,762.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $244.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.48.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: TREMFYA showed statistically significant benefit in a Phase 3 study for perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease — a meaningful clinical win that could expand TREMFYA’s IBD label and support long‑term sales growth in immunology. TREMFYA study press release
• Positive Sentiment: JNJ reported strong Phase 2b data for investigational co‑antibody JNJ‑4804 in refractory IBD (DUET studies), supporting advancement toward Phase 3 and adding pipeline optionality versus current therapies. JNJ‑4804 DUET data
• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson’s Ottava surgical robot reportedly met endpoints in a pivotal bariatric study — a promising signal for the company’s MedTech R&D and future device commercialization. Ottava study
• Neutral Sentiment: Market pieces and screeners continue to highlight JNJ as a Dividend King and a dividend‑income option (Fool, 247wallst, Zacks coverage), which supports steady investor demand from income-focused holders but is unlikely to move the stock dramatically by itself. Safer Dividend King article
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad reporting notes J&J is expanding its clinical pipeline across immunology, MedTech and AI initiatives — constructive for long‑term growth but mostly early‑stage in terms of revenue impact. Pipeline expansion article
• Negative Sentiment: CVS will drop J&J’s Stelara from its main formularies in favor of lower‑cost interchangeable biosimilars starting July 1 — a near‑term commercial headwind for Stelara sales and an obvious driver of downward pressure on the shares. CVS drops Stelara
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage notes mixed IBD results: while some J&J programs show promise, at least one trial missed its primary endpoint (coverage describes advancement “despite” a miss), creating short‑term uncertainty about timing/scale of benefits and raising questions for near‑term sales guidance. Stat News coverage

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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