Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 5,342,443 Shares of Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,795,058 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,342,443 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Johnson & Johnson worth $2,234,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Blueline Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter worth $26,000. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 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: 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?

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.0%

JNJ stock opened at $232.81 on Monday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $149.04 and a fifty-two week high of $251.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $231.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $560.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its earnings results 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. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $1.34 dividend. 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on JNJ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson 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.