Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Up 2% – Still a Buy?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price shot up 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $235.22 and last traded at $232.8060. 8,021,543 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session 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

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.92. 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 $560.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.26.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’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. Sell-side analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors 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%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evansbrook LLC increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 5,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 11.9% during the first quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 10,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Stillwater Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the first quarter worth about $365,000. DV Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 80,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,655,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.