Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Should You Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price rose 1.4% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $276.41 and last traded at $276.1410. Approximately 8,805,949 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 7,957,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted accelerated approval to RYBREVANT FASPRO as a single-agent treatment for certain adults with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer after prior platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy. J&J says the treatment is the first new option in this setting in a decade; trial data showed a 42% response rate. The approval extends the drug’s use beyond lung cancer and could broaden its commercial opportunity, though the indication is limited and accelerated approval may require confirmatory evidence. FDA approval announcement
• Positive Sentiment: J&J’s Innovative Medicine division grew third-quarter sales 7.7% to $16.76 billion, with established blockbusters and new launches more than offsetting generic competition. Continued growth despite patent-related headwinds supports the business outlook. Innovative Medicine sales report
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J was included in an article highlighting companies with a history of dividend increases and strong balance sheets. This reinforces its income-investor appeal, but the article does not identify a new company-specific dividend announcement. Dividend raisers article
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced it is investigating potential claims on behalf of J&J investors. The notice does not provide details of the claims, but the investigation could add legal and reputational uncertainty. Investor investigation announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on JNJ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $294.00 to $292.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Johnson Rice lowered Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $287.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.92.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $265.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $664.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.22.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.38 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 16.20% and a return on equity of 31.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.150 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.21%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 33,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.74, for a total value of $9,230,439.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,991,308.78. This trade represents a 56.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 15,000 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.36, for a total value of $3,950,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 194,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,210,615.36. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 12.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,588,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,736,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513,321 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.5% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,661,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,977,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 11.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,837,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,927,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,070 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,406,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,277,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,967,399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is a global healthcare company that develops and sells prescription medicines and medical technologies. Its business is organized around two segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech.

Innovative Medicine develops treatments in areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and pulmonary hypertension. MedTech provides products and technologies for fields such as surgery, orthopedics, and vision care.

Founded in 1886, Johnson & Johnson serves patients and healthcare professionals in markets around the world.