Stephens Inc. AR Sells 4,786 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its Johnson & Johnson stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,786 shares and leaving it with 190,028 shares worth about $39.35 million.
• J&J’s operating results remain solid, with the company recently reporting Q1 EPS of $2.70 and revenue of $24.06 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally constructive, with several analysts lifting price targets and the stock holding a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $253.04.

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,028 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,786 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $39,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 632.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position 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 during the period. Greenberg Financial Group purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $954,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position 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 during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting 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?

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $226.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $545.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $235.13 and its 200 day moving average is $221.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $149.04 and a 1 year 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Johnson & Johnson's revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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