Alta Advisers Ltd Reduces Stake in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Alta Advisers Ltd lowered its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for about 0.7% of Alta Advisers Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $1,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 956,239 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during 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 buying an additional 835,146 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 2.8% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,450,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,606,431,000 after buying an additional 532,790 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 19.3% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 13,354,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,512,719,000 after buying an additional 2,163,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: J&J’s DePuy Synthes unit announced an exclusive distribution agreement for the NOVOSIS bone graft substitute in the U.S., Canada and Australia, expanding its orthopedic portfolio and supporting MedTech growth. DePuy Synthes secures exclusive NOVOSIS bone graft distribution partnership (JNJ)
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish articles highlighted J&J as a large-cap pharma stock to own as the industry shows signs of recovery, reinforcing investor confidence in its diversified pharma and MedTech mix. 4 Large-Cap Pharma Stocks to Buy as Industry Recovery Accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to J&J’s strong dividend profile and “Dividend King” status, with the company’s long record of dividend growth supporting its appeal to income investors. Why Johnson & Johnson Might Be the Smartest Dividend King to Buy in Today’s Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted healthcare stocks were a drag on the broader market, which can weigh on J&J even when company-specific news is constructive. Dow Gives Back Early Gains. Healthcare Stocks Are a Drag.
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh talc-litigation headlines remain a key overhang, including a Minnesota jury’s $10.2 million mesothelioma verdict tied to asbestos-contaminated cosmetic talc products. Assessing Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Valuation After Guidance Raise Growth Initiatives And Talc Litigation Update
• Negative Sentiment: Broader concerns about potential drug-pricing pressure under President Trump could also limit pharma profit expectations, adding policy risk for J&J’s drug business. President Trump’s Drug Pricing Policies Could Hurt Drugmakers’ Profits. Time to Sell Pharma Stocks?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley set a $283.00 price target on Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $234.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded 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, May 13th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.04.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of JNJ stock opened at $230.37 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $233.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.19. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $149.04 and a twelve month high of $251.71. The company has a market capitalization of $554.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.12%.

Johnson & Johnson 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.