Wasatch Advisors LP Sells 2,194 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Wasatch Advisors LP lessened its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,194 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $7,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 19.6% during 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. Benchmark Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,410,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,736,000 after purchasing an additional 28,370 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,296,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $475,330,000 after buying an additional 410,720 shares during the period. Finally, SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,019,000. Hedge funds and other 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: JNJ is advancing seltorexant into late-stage development for major depressive disorder, potentially adding a novel growth opportunity to its Innovative Medicine pipeline. The company also announced a multiyear partnership with ACCESS to expand advanced cardiac electrophysiology technologies in ambulatory surgery centers, supporting its higher-growth MedTech strategy. Johnson & Johnson Advances Seltorexant and Expands Outpatient Cardiac Care
• Positive Sentiment: Recent catalysts include FDA De Novo authorization for the OTTAVA robotic surgery system, Priority Review for RYBREVANT FASPRO and a collaboration on in-vivo CAR-T therapies. These developments strengthen JNJ’s long-term growth narrative beyond its established products. What Johnson & Johnson’s OTTAVA FDA Win and Talc Deal Shift Mean for Shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: JNJ’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion and adjusted earnings per share reaching $2.90. Management raised its full-year 2026 EPS outlook to $11.60-$11.75, reinforcing confidence in the business. Johnson & Johnson vs. Medtronic After Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: JNJ remains attractive to income-focused investors because of its long record of uninterrupted dividend increases, diversified operations and relatively strong balance sheet. Johnson & Johnson vs. AbbVie: Safe Dividend vs. Higher Yield

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $272.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $284.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $282.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.22.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total transaction of $5,792,778.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,779,963.81. The trade was a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $4,090,926.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,367,458. This trade represents a 48.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 48,972 shares of company stock valued at $12,295,205 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $260.74 on Thursday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $172.70 and a 1 year high of $274.90. The firm has a market cap of $628.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $250.68 and a 200 day moving average of $240.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.11%.

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.