South Dakota Investment Council Trims Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,897 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $18,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,740,362,000 after buying an additional 3,731,074 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,704,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,782 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22,225.6% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 69,419,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,633,000 after acquiring an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,953,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,967,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,292 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,924,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into next-generation oncology. J&J completed its $1 billion cash acquisition of Firefly Bio, gaining the Firelink™ degrader antibody conjugate platform. The technology is intended to support targeted treatments for difficult solid tumors, including KRAS-driven cancers, and strengthens the company’s long-term oncology pipeline. Firefly Bio acquisition article
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic collaboration adds autoimmune-disease potential. J&J agreed to work with Sail Biomedicines on in vivo CAR-T therapies designed to reset the immune system and treat immune-mediated diseases. The agreement includes $785 million in initial payments and an exclusive option to acquire Sail for $2.58 billion, giving J&J access to a potentially transformative platform. Wall Street Journal Sail collaboration article
• Positive Sentiment: Operating momentum remains solid. J&J’s latest quarterly results exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue up 6.6% year over year to $25.31 billion and earnings per share of $2.90 versus a $2.84 consensus estimate. Analysts also raised some longer-term earnings forecasts, suggesting confidence in the underlying business. Johnson & Johnson earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Talc settlement may reduce legal uncertainty. J&J’s proposed payment of up to $5.5 billion would address roughly 76,000 ovarian-cancer claims, potentially removing a major litigation overhang. However, the agreement requires at least 95% claimant participation and does not eliminate all future litigation risk. Reuters talc litigation article
• Negative Sentiment: 2026 profit forecast was lowered. J&J cited the combined financial impact of the Firefly acquisition and Sail agreement when reducing its 2026 profit forecast. The lower near-term earnings outlook appears to be the most direct reason for investor caution today, despite the deals’ potential long-term strategic value. Reuters profit forecast article

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,560,551.20. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 23,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.27, for a total value of $5,792,778.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at $5,779,963.81. This trade represents a 50.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

JNJ opened at $265.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $164.23 and a 52-week high of $274.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $244.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.82. The company has a market cap of $640.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.24.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $25.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.06 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Freedom Capital raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $263.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.39.

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.