Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Up 3.6% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot up 3.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $239.80 and last traded at $239.66. 11,694,858 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 8,389,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.29.

Key Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson is drawing attention from income investors as a “safe” dividend name, with multiple articles highlighting its reliability and strong dividend-safety profile. That kind of defensive positioning can help the stock when traders rotate away from higher-risk growth names. One Stock to Own For Ultimate Dividend Safety
• Positive Sentiment: The company advanced its cardiac ablation technology in Europe with the availability of the Dual Energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF platform, a MedTech update that supports ongoing product momentum in a high-margin business. Johnson & Johnson Advances Cardiac Ablation Technology in Europe with Availability of Dual Energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also pointed to progress in oncology, rare disease, and MedTech, including TALVEY, IMAAVY, and TECNIS PureSee, which suggests J&J’s innovation pipeline is broadening beyond just dividends and could support future growth. How Oncology, Rare Disease and MedTech Wins At Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are expecting second-quarter earnings to rise at a single-digit pace, which is constructive but not a major near-term catalyst by itself. Johnson & Johnson Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles also frame J&J as a defensive alternative to tech and AI stocks, reflecting sector rotation rather than a company-specific surprise. That can help explain steady buying interest, but it is more of a market-style shift than a fresh fundamental change. Why Johnson & Johnson, Altria, Verizon, and Other Safe Dividend Stocks Climbed Today

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on JNJ. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Leerink Partners raised Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $230.50 and a 200 day moving average of $228.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $590.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total transaction of $2,411,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. Greenberg Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 4.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,030,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $932,835,000 after acquiring an additional 208,765 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 161,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,450 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 59,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,047,000 after purchasing an additional 4,216 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 95,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,738,000 after purchasing an additional 8,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company 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.