Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Stake Boosted by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,979 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,725 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $11,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cresta Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 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: Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to Outperform, which can help investor sentiment and suggests the firm sees more upside from current levels. Leerink Partners upgrades Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Positive Sentiment: A new article says J&J’s story is shifting as newer drugs such as Icotyde, Inlexzo, Tecvayli and Tremfya gain attention, while a valuation update nudged fair value slightly higher. That points to continued pipeline progress as a key long-term driver. How The Story For Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Is Shifting With New Drugs And Legal Twists
• Positive Sentiment: CAPLYTA data highlighted favorable efficacy and safety versus competing antipsychotics, reinforcing the value of J&J’s mental-health franchise and broader pipeline depth. CAPLYTA Data Highlights Johnson & Johnson Valuation And Mental Health Story
• Neutral Sentiment: MeiraGTx reported an asset purchase agreement with Johnson & Johnson for bota-vec, a transaction that appears more strategic than immediately material for earnings, but it shows J&J remains active in bolt-on pipeline deals. MeiraGTx Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial and Operational Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent bladder-cancer survey coverage reinforces the need for better therapies, which supports the market’s broader view that J&J’s oncology and urology pipeline could have room to grow, though the report itself does not change fundamentals immediately. Groundbreaking global survey captures the significant patient burden experienced with current standard-of-care bladder cancer treatments, underscoring urgency for continued innovation
• Negative Sentiment: Articles note Johnson & Johnson has been down since its last earnings report, indicating some investors remain cautious despite the company’s stable fundamentals and defensive profile. Why Is Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Down 3.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $226.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $545.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $149.04 and a 52-week high of $251.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.79.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $24.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.450-11.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Leerink Partners raised Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Johnson & Johnson from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.04.

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.