Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $246.96 and last traded at $246.3880, with a volume of 3967093 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $244.99.

Johnson & Johnson News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Announced a >$1 billion investment to build a next‑generation cell‑therapy manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, supporting capacity for JNJ’s biologics/cell therapy pipeline and long‑term growth. BusinessWire: J&J $1B Pennsylvania plant
• Positive Sentiment: FDA granted a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for subcutaneous amivantamab (RYBREVANT FASPRO) in advanced head & neck cancer — a regulatory accelerator that can speed development and improve commercial prospects if confirmatory data follow. PR Newswire: BTD for RYBREVANT FASPRO
• Positive Sentiment: FDA cleared a simplified monthly dosing option for RYBREVANT FASPRO in lung cancer, which may improve patient convenience and uptake versus more frequent dosing schedules. PR Newswire: Monthly dosing approval
• Positive Sentiment: Raised the quarterly dividend to $1.30, reinforcing JNJ’s shareholder‑return profile and supporting demand from income‑oriented investors. 24/7 Wall St.: Dividend increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow and heightened analyst/press coverage have increased short‑term attention on JNJ; this can amplify moves but doesn’t change fundamentals by itself. Benzinga: Options trends
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investors and some analysts have been increasing exposure and lifting targets, supporting medium‑term demand; monitor whether upgrades translate into sustained inflows. MarketBeat: Institutional/analyst interest
• Negative Sentiment: Two senior executives (Vanessa Broadhurst and Timothy Schmid) recently sold material blocks of shares, which investors often view as a negative signal or a source of additional supply. InsiderTrades: Executive share sales SEC Form 4 (Schmid)
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing talc litigation and media coverage keep legal and valuation overhangs in focus, which can cap multiple expansion even as operational results improve. Yahoo Finance: Oncology vs talc litigation risk

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JNJ has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Johnson Rice set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.73.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $593.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $219.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, January 31st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 33.04% and a net margin of 28.46%.The business had revenue of $24.28 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 22,623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.33, for a total transaction of $5,527,477.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total transaction of $1,508,287.83. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JNJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 240,349,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,740,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,074 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,663,782 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 2.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,225,676 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $6,924,523,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,789,914,000 after acquiring an additional 956,239 shares during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.