Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s Why

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price fell 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $262.40 and last traded at $264.1310. Approximately 5,307,717 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 7,985,994 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.61.

More Johnson & Johnson News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The United Kingdom approved J&J’s oral psoriasis treatment, expanding the company’s commercial opportunity in a major market and strengthening its immunology pipeline. UK approves J&J’s oral psoriasis pill
• Positive Sentiment: J&J reported first real-world data for its VARIPULSE Pro platform and 12-month outcomes for the OMNYPULSE platform in atrial-fibrillation treatment. The results could support adoption of its MedTech portfolio and help offset weakness in other device businesses. J&J reports VARIPULSE Pro and OMNYPULSE data
• Positive Sentiment: J&J has benefited from investor rotation into defensive healthcare and consumer-staples companies amid broader large-cap weakness, reinforcing demand for its relatively stable earnings and dividend profile. Defensive stocks attract buyers
• Neutral Sentiment: J&J’s implied fair value was raised from $270.59 to $279.41 per share, but analyst views remain divided. Supporters cite earnings resilience and the drug pipeline, while others point to valuation, MedTech execution risk and possible dilution from recent deals. J&J fair value adjustment
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed combination involving J&J’s orthopedics business and Smith & Nephew reportedly collapsed over a leadership dispute. The development removes potential strategic benefits and may raise questions about execution, although Smith & Nephew declined to comment. Orthopedics merger reportedly collapsed
• Negative Sentiment: J&J reclaimed its 50-day moving average, but falling earnings estimates, a premium valuation and weakness in MedTech are limiting the bullish technical signal. Erste Group also downgraded the shares to “Hold,” adding to near-term investor caution. J&J stock outlook and valuation concerns

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on JNJ. UBS Group set a $270.00 target price on Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $282.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $298.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $275.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.92.

Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $265.64 and its 200-day moving average is $250.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $25.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.38 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 16.20%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.34 per share. This represents a $5.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is currently 81.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth Forminard sold 15,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $4,090,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,458. This represents a 48.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 33,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.74, for a total value of $9,230,439.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,991,308.78. This represents a 56.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,515 shares of company stock valued at $17,271,766. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,967,399,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 24,436.5% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,473,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,338,000 after buying an additional 4,454,778 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 127.3% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 6,060,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,292,000 after buying an additional 3,393,981 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,588,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,736,851,000 after buying an additional 2,513,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 17.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,406,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,277,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

About Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is a global healthcare company headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Founded in 1886, the company develops and markets products and services for patients, healthcare professionals and institutions worldwide.

Johnson & Johnson operates through two principal segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech. Innovative Medicine focuses on pharmaceuticals for areas such as immunology, oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases and cardiovascular conditions.