Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Price Target Raised to $275.00 at Argus

Key Points

• Argus raised its price target to $275 (from $240) and kept a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 16.25% upside; other analysts have also boosted forecasts, leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" price target near $251.52.
• Q1 results beat expectations—EPS $2.70 vs. $2.68 and revenue $24.06B vs. $23.60B—and management raised FY2026 guidance to $11.45–$11.65 EPS while targeting ~ $100B in annual sales and increasing the dividend for the 64th consecutive year.
• Near‑term risks include biosimilar competition, a decline in legacy drug (Stelara) sales and weaker free cash flow, and insiders disclosed notable share sales in the quarter despite heavy institutional ownership (~69.6%).

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Argus from $240.00 to $275.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Argus' price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.25% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on JNJ. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price objective on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.52.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $236.55 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $241.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $146.12 and a 12-month high of $251.71. The firm has a market cap of $569.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $24.06 billion during 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 32.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total value of $5,527,477.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at $6,540,469.77. This trade represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson 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 directly owned 23,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company's stock worth $49,740,362,000 after buying an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company's stock worth $27,704,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,782 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company's stock worth $1,436,633,000 after acquiring an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $11,967,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at $6,924,523,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — revenue of $24.06B and EPS above estimates — and management raised 2026 guidance, underpinning confidence in near‑term growth. Johnson & Johnson Raises 2026 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management laid out a plan to drive record revenue this year and is explicitly targeting ~$100B in annual sales — a clear growth signal that supports higher valuation expectations. How J&J plans to hit $100B in revenue this year
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and shareholder returns: J&J announced a quarterly dividend increase (64th consecutive annual raise), reinforcing its income appeal to investors. Johnson and Johnson Raises Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms lifted price targets and ratings after the quarter (Goldman, Wells Fargo, Raymond James, others), adding buy‑side momentum. Analysts Boost Forecasts on J&J
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J agreed to sell rights to a gene‑therapy asset (botaretigene sparoparvovec) to MeiraGTx — a non‑core asset sale that could free capital but has limited immediate revenue impact. MeiraGTx acquisition of bota-vec
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate engagement: Management will present at the Bank of America Healthcare Conference (May 12) — a routine investor event where management may provide additional detail on growth drivers. J&J to Participate in BOA Healthcare Conference
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term risks: investors remain wary of biosimilar competition and a steep decline in legacy drug (Stelara) sales; free cash flow also fell in the quarter, which could cap multiple expansion. This helps explain occasional intraday weakness despite the beat. Dow Jones' J&J Slips Despite Beating First-Quarter Calls

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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