Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s share price fell 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $246.05 and last traded at $247.5480. Approximately 10,002,910 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 8,423,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.85.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Johnson & Johnson reported Q2 earnings and revenue above Wall Street estimates, then raised its 2026 guidance, suggesting management sees continued momentum from Innovative Medicine and pipeline execution. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $270 price target, implying additional upside from current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted strength in drugs like Darzalex, Tremfya, and Spravato, along with growth beyond legacy products, which supports the longer-term investment case. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage from earnings-call transcripts and sector commentary keeps JNJ in focus, but these items are mainly reinforcing the same post-earnings narrative rather than adding new catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and higher outlook, some traders are still focusing on mixed MedTech results and other execution risks, which has kept enthusiasm from fully translating into the share price. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain cautious because litigation concerns, including talc-related risk, continue to hang over the stock even after the strong quarter. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on JNJ. Leerink Partners raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $263.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $285.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.30.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $239.19 and a 200 day moving average of $234.50. The stock has a market cap of $612.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.06. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.86%. The firm had revenue of $25.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.600-11.750 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Kathryn E. Wengel sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.15, for a total value of $2,411,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 114,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,560,551.20. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,740,362,000 after buying an additional 3,731,074 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,704,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663,782 shares in 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 worth $1,436,633,000 after purchasing an additional 69,108,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $11,967,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $6,924,523,000. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.