Vawter Financial Ltd. Invests $570,000 in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Vawter Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 237,047,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,209,060,000 after buying an additional 3,085,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter worth about $4,877,174,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,568,313,000 after acquiring an additional 835,146 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,951,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,894,979,000 after purchasing an additional 52,074 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: FDA pipeline upside — J&J submitted an sBLA for IMAAVY (nipocalimab) as the first potential FDA‑approved therapy for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, giving Janssen a new, high‑margin specialty indication with meaningful unmet need. JNJ seeks FDA approval of IMAAVY (PR Newswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical proof supports growth — new three‑year TREMFYA ulcerative colitis data reinforce J&J’s ability to replace legacy Stelara sales, underpinning revenue/earnings guidance and investor confidence in the Innovative Medicine segment. TREMFYA three‑year data (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: Potential asset sale could unlock value — reports J&J is exploring a sale of DePuy Synthes (orthopedics) as part of its separation plans; a major divestiture would raise cash and simplify the portfolio, which investors tend to reward. Potential DePuy sale (InsiderMonkey)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and options activity is creating noise — Wall Street coverage is generally constructive but mixed (price targets/ratings vary) and unusual options flows are elevating short‑term volatility without a clear directional signal. Wall Street optimism (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic partnerships (e.g., first co‑funding with Blackstone) are notable but their near‑term earnings impact is unclear. Co‑funding with Blackstone (TipRanks)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang — Bayer filed a lawsuit over prostate‑cancer drug claims (Nubeqa), adding litigation risk that can pressure sentiment in the biotech/pharma unit. Bayer sues J&J (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s ex‑dividend technical effect — Feb. 24 was the ex‑dividend date for JNJ’s $1.30 quarterly payout, so the share price is likely to show a mechanical decline equal to the dividend amount, which can look like a sell‑off even when fundamentals are intact. Ex‑dividend note (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — EVP Timothy Schmid sold shares (Form 4 filings); routine disposals can be read negatively by some traders, adding modest near‑term pressure. Form 4 (SEC)

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.2%

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $246.21 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $141.50 and a 1-year high of $247.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $222.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $593.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.35.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%. Equities research analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $220.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.70.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total value of $324,762.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,251,310.02. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock worth $7,360,528. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.