Johnson & Johnson $JNJ Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 69.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,368,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,071,786 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $283,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its position in Johnson & Johnson by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 11,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd now owns 7,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 4,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 directly owned 26,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,540,469.77. This represents a 45.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Broadhurst sold 6,197 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.39, for a total value of $1,508,287.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,700.17. This represents a 21.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,142 shares of company stock valued at $7,360,528 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $217.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $253.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.91.

Key Headlines Impacting Johnson & Johnson

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

• Positive Sentiment: Punitive damages of about $950 million in a talc-related case were overturned, materially reducing near‑term litigation exposure and uncertainty for JNJ. Punitive Damages Award Overturned
• Positive Sentiment: Phase 1 results for an extended‑release erdafitinib delivery system in non‑muscle‑invasive bladder cancer showed very high response rates (reportedly ~89%), supporting upside to the Innovative Medicines pipeline if later‑stage data confirm benefits. Bladder Cancer Trial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Medtech momentum: JNJ reported FDA approval for the TECNIS PureSee intraocular lens and highlighted procedure‑area advances that could add recurring, higher‑margin revenue in ophthalmology and procedures. Procedure & Vision Advances
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and analyst sentiment remains constructive: JNJ has traded above its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages for months and brokers/media pieces are highlighting it as a defensive, innovation‑led buy, supporting demand from yield‑and‑quality oriented investors. Technical/Broker Commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships/pipeline expansion: a collaboration (Protagonist) was highlighted as part of JNJ’s effort to compete in immunology, which could bolster longer‑term growth prospects. Protagonist Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Market narratives and strategy pieces continue to cast JNJ as a defensive, dividend‑king stock with innovation upside — useful framing for long‑term investors but less directly catalytic than clinical or legal events.
• Negative Sentiment: Residual talc litigation remains: a $16 million talc verdict was upheld in a recent case, and media mentions of JNJ as “overvalued” could pressure sentiment if litigation headlines resume. Talc Verdict Stands

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE JNJ opened at $239.93 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $577.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.34. Johnson & Johnson has a 52-week low of $141.50 and a 52-week high of $251.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.82.

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

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 24th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

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.