Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Johnson & Johnson shares rose 2% on Friday, trading as high as $235.22 after closing at $228.17 the prior day, with volume slightly below average.
• Recent coverage has been broadly positive, with analysts and commentators citing strong specialty-drug pipeline updates, limited major patent-expiration risk, and recent market outperformance as reasons for optimism.
• The company continues to look financially solid: it beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.34 per share, and has a Wall Street consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price around $253.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) rose 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $235.22 and last traded at $232.8060. Approximately 8,021,543 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 8,346,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.17.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Johnson & Johnson’s lack of major patent expirations and pointed to its billion-dollar drugs and growing businesses as reasons to own the stock. Jim Cramer Highlights Johnson & Johnson Having No Big Patent Expirations
• Positive Sentiment: ASCO 2026 updates underscored Johnson & Johnson’s expanding specialty-drug pipeline, with encouraging data in autoimmunity, oncology, and myeloma that could support longer-term revenue growth. ASCO 2026 Data Underscore Johnson & Johnson’s Expanding Specialty Drug Story
• Positive Sentiment: Separate market coverage noted Johnson & Johnson has been outperforming the broader market recently, reinforcing investor confidence in the defensive healthcare name. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider
• Neutral Sentiment: Newsweek named Johnson & Johnson among the world’s greenest companies for 2026, which is supportive for ESG-focused investors but unlikely to move the stock on its own. Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, MetLife Named Among Newsweek’s World’s Greenest Companies 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ongoing headwinds, including Stelara erosion, China MedTech pressure, and talc litigation, though J&J is still targeting $100 billion in revenue and faster growth in 2026. Can JNJ Sustain Growth Amid Patent, Legal and China Risks?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 2.0%

The stock has a market cap of $560.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $232.12 and a 200-day moving average of $225.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson's payout ratio is 61.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 130,934 shares of the company's stock worth $24,278,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 1,383,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares during the last quarter. Greenberg Financial Group acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $954,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,135,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,202,000 after purchasing an additional 214,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.9% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 378,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,136,000 after purchasing an additional 30,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

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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