Insider Selling: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) EVP Sells $1,508,287.83 in Stock

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value 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 approximately $5,598,700.17. The trade was a 21.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $242.27 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a fifty-two week low of $141.50 and a fifty-two week high of $246.96. The company has a market capitalization of $583.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $221.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the fourth 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 133,869,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,704,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,609,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,227,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,924,523,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 25,832,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,789,914,000 after purchasing an additional 956,239 shares in the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Clinical and regulatory wins for oncology: J&J reported strong Phase 1b/2 data for subcutaneous amivantamab (RYBREVANT FASPRO) in head & neck cancer and has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy attention and a separate monthly‑dosing approval that can improve patient convenience and commercial uptake. These outcomes support the pharma growth story and were cited as a reason for recent buying interest. RYBREVANT clinical results
• Positive Sentiment: Potential strategic catalyst: reports say J&J is preparing a possible ~$20B sale of its orthopedics unit — a deal could unlock value, boost cash for buybacks/dividends or speed a planned separation, which traders view as a material upside catalyst if executed. Reuters on orthopedics sale
• Positive Sentiment: Capital investment and dividend support: J&J announced a $1B investment in a Pennsylvania cell‑therapy facility and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.30 — both reinforce the company’s long‑term growth capacity and income appeal for dividend investors. Fox Business on $1B investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and sentiment flow: unusually high call buying (41,649 calls, ~45% above typical daily call volume) and amplified options chatter are increasing intraday volatility and can intensify moves without changing fundamentals — watch open interest and directional concentration. Benzinga on options trends
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive post‑earnings momentum: coverage (Zacks/TipRanks/others) notes JNJ is up since earnings as investors re‑rate pharma catalysts and dividends — helpful for sentiment but incremental vs. material corporate events. Zacks on post‑earnings move
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caveat: Rothschild & Co Redburn raised its price target to $210 but kept a “neutral” rating — the PT sits below the current share price, signaling downside risk and giving traders a reason to trim positions. MarketScreener on Rothschild PT
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: recent sales by senior executives (disclosed Form 4s) are prompting some investor concern about near‑term profit‑taking and are adding selling pressure. SEC filing on insider sell
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: ongoing talc litigation and verdict coverage continue to create valuation uncertainty and cap multiple expansion despite operational positives. Yahoo Finance on talc risk

Analyst Ratings Changes

JNJ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $210.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.70.

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.