Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $221.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Johnson & Johnson traded as high as $222.17 and last traded at $219.8690, with a volume of 2882895 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $218.01.

JNJ has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Freedom Capital cut shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.86.

Johnson & Johnson News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 print and 2026 outlook: J&J beat revenue expectations, reported stronger margins and gave FY2026 sales and EPS guidance that was modestly above consensus — the core drivers cited were oncology strength and MedTech momentum. This underpins the bullish analyst reaction and higher expectations for organic growth. Business Wire: Q4 and Full-Year 2025 results
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrade: Scotiabank boosted its price target sharply to $265 (sector outperform), signaling meaningful upside versus the current level and likely supporting buying interest. The Fly: Scotiabank price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/market momentum: MarketBeat highlights a trend-following buy signal after the pullback to support levels, which can attract momentum traders and reduce downside risk for buyers. MarketBeat: trend-following buy signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst tweaks with limited conviction: Bank of America and Stifel nudged targets higher (to $221 and $220 respectively) but kept neutral/hold stances — these adjustments offer modest upside but little change to conviction. Benzinga: analyst target changes
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and longer-term thesis remain intact: Coverage pieces note J&J’s status as a Dividend King with a sustainable payout and a growing MedTech pipeline (including OTTAVA robotics), supporting steady institutional demand. Zacks: dividend thesis
• Negative Sentiment: Talc litigation moving forward: A court ruling will allow plaintiffs’ expert testimony in the talc MDL, increasing legal uncertainty and potential exposure that remains an overhang for the stock. Benzinga: talc litigation update
• Negative Sentiment: Stelara biosimilar pressure: Investors remain cautious after Stelara sales fell sharply following patent loss; biosimilar competition is dragging growth in that franchise and was cited as a reason for pre-market weakness even after the beat. Blockonomi: Stelara and market reaction

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNJ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 51,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,502,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 110.7% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 13.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter worth about $478,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $207.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.48. The company has a market capitalization of $526.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46. The company had revenue of $24.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.14 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 33.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Johnson & Johnson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.430-11.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s payout ratio is presently 50.19%.

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.