Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Johnson & Johnson $JNJ

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,309 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 1.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,637,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,568,313,000 after acquiring an additional 835,146 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 532,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,163,838 shares during the last quarter. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Down 0.6%

Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $221.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $237.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.58. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $146.12 and a twelve month high of $251.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 2.18 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $24.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. As a group, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 60.12%.

Key Stories Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 earnings estimate for Johnson & Johnson to $12.66 per share from $12.63, reinforcing the view that earnings power remains solid and slightly better than expected.
• Positive Sentiment: J&J’s cancer business continues to be a growth driver, with reports highlighting Darzalex, Erleada, and newer launches helping oncology sales grow strongly in the latest quarter and supporting the company’s long-term target of $50 billion in cancer sales by 2030. Darzalex, Erleada & New Drugs Keep J&J’s Oncology Engine Charged in Q1
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles also pointed to Johnson & Johnson as a favored dividend compounder, which can appeal to income investors looking for stability and long-term payouts. This Dividend Pro Likes Banks, Semi-Equipment Stocks, Altria, and J&J
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J also launched its “Generation Fine” mental health campaign, which is more of a brand and awareness initiative than a direct earnings catalyst, though it underscores continued investment in neuropsychiatry. Johnson & Johnson launches Generation Fine
• Neutral Sentiment: At the same time, recent pipeline commentary was mixed: J&J reported positive progress in some programs, but one mid-stage inflammatory bowel disease candidate did not meet its main endpoint, creating some offsetting uncertainty. Johnson And Johnson Balances Mental Health Push With Mixed Pipeline Outlook

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $274.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Freedom Capital cut Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $240.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 1,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.66, for a total value of $324,762.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,310.02. This trade represents a 4.94% 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 Johnson & Johnson 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.