Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street is broadly optimistic on Johnson & Johnson, with 27 analysts giving it an average rating of “Moderate Buy.” The consensus 1-year price target is about $261.70, and 20 analysts currently rate the stock a buy.
• J&J beat second-quarter expectations and raised its full-year outlook, reporting EPS of $2.90 on revenue of $25.31 billion. The company lifted FY 2026 guidance to EPS of $11.60-$11.75 and revenue of roughly $100.8 billion-$101.4 billion.
• The stock remains supported by dividend and institutional demand, but some caution remains. J&J declared a quarterly dividend of $1.34 per share, while major holders like Vanguard and State Street increased positions; however, the shares still slipped as investors weighed MedTech softness and talc-related legal risk.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $261.6957.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,704,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after buying an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company's stock worth $11,967,947,000 after buying an additional 1,738,292 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,924,523,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JNJ beat Q2 estimates, with EPS of $2.90 and revenue of $25.31 billion, helped by strong pharmaceutical growth from Darzalex, Tremfya and Spravato. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY 2026 guidance to EPS of $11.60-$11.75 and revenue of about $100.8 billion-$101.4 billion, signaling management confidence in continued growth. Business Wire article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies highlighted Spravato’s strong sales growth as a positive read-through for the broader psychedelic/depression-treatment market, reinforcing the value of J&J’s innovative medicines franchise. Proactive Investors article
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity leaned bullish, with traders buying more JNJ call options than usual, suggesting some expectations for upside after earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson declared a quarterly dividend of $1.34 per share, underscoring its shareholder-return profile and dividend-king status.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel maintained a Hold rating with a $260 price target, reflecting a balanced view after the earnings report. TipRanks article
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat-and-raise quarter, the stock slipped because investors appeared underwhelmed relative to elevated expectations and are still weighing MedTech softness and talc-related legal risk. MarketBeat article

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:JNJ opened at $247.55 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $595.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.24. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $159.80 and a one year high of $269.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.20.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

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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