Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Leerink Partners raised their price target on the stock from $201.00 to $232.00. Leerink Partners currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $222.17 and last traded at $219.8690, with a volume of 2882895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $218.01.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $174.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.82.

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, stronger guidance and rising free cash flow: JNJ beat Q4 revenue and EPS expectations, raised FY outlook and guided to materially higher 2026 free cash flow (~$21B), which underpins analyst upgrades and ETF buying interest. ETFs to Buy Post JNJ’s Q4 Earnings Surprise & Bullish Cash Flow View
• Positive Sentiment: Large Scotiabank upgrade: Scotiabank moved to “sector outperform” and raised its target sharply (to $265), signaling confidence in J&J’s growth runway and boosting investor appetite. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Gets a Buy from Scotiabank
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple price target raises from analysts: Leerink (+$201→$232) and Sanford C. Bernstein (+$208→$225) (and others including Stifel, BofA) have nudged targets higher, reflecting the quarter and helping push sentiment positive. Leerink Raises Price Target Bernstein Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/trend signals: MarketBeat highlights a trend‑following buy signal after a post‑earnings pullback — technical confirmation can attract momentum and institutional flows. Trend‑Following Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: MedTech strength and product pipeline: MedTech sales growth, product launches and the OTTAVA robotic submission provide a potential high‑growth stream beyond staples like Stelara. MedTech Growth & Product Launches
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation checks: Coverage pieces are assessing JNJ’s valuation after the rally — some see limited near‑term upside from current levels, which could temper aggressive buying. Valuation After Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Talc litigation risk: A Special Master allowed plaintiffs’ expert testimony in the talc MDL, keeping litigation risk visible and a potential earnings/cash‑flow overhang. Talc Litigation Update

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clark Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,234,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,638,000 after acquiring an additional 94,957 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 138,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,667,000 after buying an additional 6,143 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 83.9% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 366,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,040,000 after purchasing an additional 167,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the second quarter valued at about $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.93. The company has a market capitalization of $530.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.46. The firm had revenue of $24.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.14 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.430-11.630 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

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.