Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Near Record Highs: Today’s News, Earnings, Dividend and Talc Risks

On November 29, 2025, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) sits close to record territory after a powerful year-long rally, with Wall Street increasingly treating the healthcare giant as both a growth and defensive name at the same time. The stock is hovering around the $206–$207 range after Friday’s U.S. close, not far from a recent 12‑month high near $207.81 and above the late‑November all‑time closing high around $203.48. ^[1]

Over the last year, JNJ has delivered more than 35% total return and over 40% year‑to‑date, propelling its market capitalization to just under $500 billion, according to multiple data providers and recent coverage noting that the stock is “flirting” with a half‑trillion‑dollar valuation. ^[2] That surge has been driven by a string of earnings beats, a planned spin‑out of its orthopedics arm, aggressive oncology deal‑making and a still‑reliable dividend — all against the backdrop of intensifying talc litigation that remains the main overhang on the story. ^[3]

Below is a breakdown of today’s key headlines, the fundamentals behind the rally, and the risks investors are watching most closely.

JNJ Stock Snapshot: Price, Valuation and Dividend Today

Share price (as of Nov. 29, 2025): JNJ last traded just above $206 per share on Friday, Nov. 28, modestly below the recent intraday high and capping an ~11% gain over the past month, according to recent analytics. ^[4]
52‑week range: Roughly $140.68 – $207.81, highlighting how far sentiment has swung from last year’s litigation‑driven lows. ^[5]
Market cap and valuation: JNJ’s market value is around $498 billion, trading on a price‑to‑earnings ratio near 20x, a modest premium to its long‑term average but still slightly below the broader big‑pharma peer group in some models. ^[6]
Dividend: The company recently declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend (annualized $5.20), with an ex‑dividend date of November 25 and payment set for December 9, implying a yield around 2.5–2.7% at current prices. ^[7]

JNJ is also a “Dividend King,” having raised its payout for more than 60 consecutive years, cementing its reputation as one of the most reliable income names in the S&P 500. ^[8]

Fresh Headlines on November 29, 2025: Big Money Moves and TV Buzz

Institutional investors: mixed trimming and topping‑up

Today’s 13F‑based headlines focus heavily on what large institutions have been doing with JNJ stock in Q2 2025 (data that’s being reported now):

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its JNJ stake by 3.7%, selling about 69,964 shares and ending the quarter with roughly 1.83 million shares (about 0.08% of JNJ) worth $279 million. ^[9]
New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings by 1.2% to 3.15 million shares, still about 0.13% of JNJ’s shares outstanding and roughly 0.6% of the pension fund’s total portfolio. ^[10]
Virtue Capital Management slashed its position by 53.7%, selling 2,819 shares and ending the quarter with 2,428 shares worth around $371,000. ^[11]
By contrast, Groupama Asset Management boosted its stake by 13.9% to 39,214 shares, adding nearly 4,800 shares during the quarter. ^[12]

Across these filings, MarketBeat data show institutional investors collectively hold about 69.5% of JNJ’s shares, underscoring how heavily owned the company is by professional money managers. ^[13] The moves look more like position‑sizing after a big run‑up than a wholesale shift in conviction.

Insider activity: a high‑profile sale that’s already digested

Several of today’s pieces also re‑highlight a previously disclosed insider transaction: Executive Vice President Jennifer L. Taubert sold 56,471 shares at an average price of about $177.81 back in early September, a sale worth roughly $10 million, leaving her with about 178,000 shares. ^[14] Insider ownership remains small — around 0.16% of shares — typical for a mega‑cap like JNJ. ^[15]

Jim Cramer and “getting out of everything non‑proprietary”

In a widely circulated Insider Monkey recap published today, CNBC’s Jim Cramer singled out Johnson & Johnson while discussing the need for diversification. He reiterated that he’s “particularly fond” of the stock and highlighted J&J’s strategy of moving out of commoditized businesses, such as artificial joints, and doubling down on high‑growth proprietary pharmaceuticals, especially in oncology. ^[16]

Cramer also pointed to JNJ’s dividend yield above 2.7% and its reputation as a “former safety stock” that now offers renewed upside, framing it as a core holding for long‑term investors who want quality plus income. ^[17]

Earnings Momentum: Three Strong Quarters in 2025

Behind the share‑price strength lies a year of solid execution across all three reported quarters so far.

Q3 2025: growth re‑accelerates

In October, Johnson & Johnson reported Q3 2025 results that topped expectations:

Reported sales: about $24.0 billion, up 6.8% year‑over‑year.
GAAP EPS:$2.12; adjusted EPS:$2.80, with adjusted net earnings up double digits.
Both Innovative Medicine and MedTech grew revenue by 6.8%, driven by oncology drugs such as DARZALEX and CARVYKTI, immunology therapies like TREMFYA, and cardiovascular devices including Abiomed’s heart‑support systems. ^[18]

Management raised its 2025 sales outlook again, pointing to mid‑single‑digit reported sales growth (around 5.7% at the midpoint) and reaffirmed adjusted EPS guidance of $10.80–$10.90, implying high‑single‑digit earnings growth versus 2024. ^[19]

Earlier in the year: steady beats and guidance upgrades

Q2 2025: JNJ delivered $23.7 billion in sales, up 5.8%, with GAAP EPS of $2.29 and adjusted EPS of $2.77. The company used that quarter to lift its full‑year 2025 sales and EPS guidance, nudging the midpoint of adjusted EPS to $10.85. ^[20]
Q1 2025: According to analysis from Investopedia, JNJ started the year with revenue of around $21.9 billion, ahead of consensus, and adjusted EPS of $2.77 versus forecasts in the mid‑$2.50s, also increasing its full‑year sales outlook at that time. ^[21]

The result: 2025 has been a story of consistent top‑line growth, recurring guidance raises and margin resilience, giving investors more confidence that JNJ’s pivot toward higher‑growth medicines and medtech franchises is working.

Strategic Reshaping: Orthopedics Spin‑Out and a $3.05 Billion Cancer Deal

Spinning out DePuy Synthes: “shrinking to grow faster”

On October 14, Johnson & Johnson announced plans to separate its Orthopaedics business — primarily DePuy Synthes — into a standalone company, targeting completion within 18–24 months, subject to board and regulatory approvals. ^[22]

Key points from company and industry coverage:

The new orthopedics company, to be called DePuy Synthes, would be one of the largest players in a roughly $50 billion global orthopedics market, competing directly with Stryker and Zimmer Biomet. ^[23]
The ortho unit generated about $9.2 billion in 2024 revenue and roughly $6.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025, a slower‑growing piece of the MedTech portfolio despite a Q3 rebound. ^[24]
CEO Joaquin Duato and MedTech chief Tim Schmid have framed the move as “shrinking to grow faster,” allowing J&J’s remaining MedTech operations to concentrate on higher‑growth, higher‑margin areas like cardiovascular devices and robotic surgery. ^[25]

For JNJ stock, the spin‑out is widely seen as a bid to unlock value: investors will ultimately get shares in a pure‑play orthopedics company while the parent company becomes more focused on fast‑growing, innovation‑driven franchises.

Oncology push: acquiring Halda Therapeutics

On November 17, JNJ announced a definitive agreement to acquire Halda Therapeutics OpCo for $3.05 billion in cash. ^[26]

Highlights of the deal:

Halda brings a RIPTAC™ platform (Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimera) for oral, targeted therapies across multiple solid tumors.
The lead asset, HLD‑0915, is a clinical‑stage therapy for prostate cancer designed to overcome common resistance mechanisms and improve outcomes in advanced disease. ^[27]
J&J expects a $0.15 hit to adjusted EPS in 2026 from financing and one‑time equity‑compensation charges, but views the platform as a mid‑ and long‑term growth catalyst across prostate, breast and lung cancer and potentially beyond oncology. ^[28]

The Halda deal follows J&J’s earlier Intra‑Cellular Therapeutics acquisition (bringing the antidepressant/antipsychotic Caplyta) and a series of oncology and cardiovascular transactions, consistent with an ambition to deliver $50 billion in oncology sales by 2030, as noted in sector commentary. ^[29]

Pipeline momentum: from Tremfya to nipocalimab

Beyond M&A, JNJ has been showcasing internal R&D wins:

TREMFYA (guselkumab): New long‑term data from the Phase 3b APEX study in psoriatic arthritis show durable control of both skin and joint symptoms over 48 weeks, reinforcing its role in immunology. ^[30]
Nipocalimab (FcRn antagonist): In October, a Phase 2 DAHLIAS trial in Sjögren’s disease demonstrated significant reductions in disease activity and improvement in hallmark symptoms such as dryness, fatigue and joint pain, with results published in The Lancet. ^[31]

This combination of portfolio pruning, business separation and pipeline expansion is central to the bull case that JNJ is evolving from a diversified conglomerate into a more focused, innovation‑heavy healthcare platform.

Dividend Strength: A Cornerstone of the Investment Case

For income‑oriented investors, little has changed about JNJ’s core appeal:

The latest $1.30 quarterly dividend keeps the annual payout at $5.20 per share, and management has maintained an unbroken multi‑decade record of annual increases. ^[32]
Independent dividend analysts continue to classify JNJ as a “Dividend King” and “dividend powerhouse”, thanks to both its streak and a payout ratio near 50%, leaving ample room for reinvestment and future growth. ^[33]

The recent share‑price spike means the headline yield has compressed into the mid‑2% range, but for long‑time shareholders, the yield on cost can be substantially higher — one reason the stock remains a staple in many retirement portfolios and low‑volatility income strategies. ^[34]

The Legal Wild Card: Talc and Tylenol Litigation Intensifies

Despite the strong fundamentals, litigation remains the biggest swing factor in JNJ’s valuation.

Talc lawsuits: more cases and a supersized verdict

An October analysis drawing on recent securities filings reports that JNJ now faces roughly 73,570 lawsuits over talc‑based baby powder, a 17% increase from about 62,830 cases at the end of 2024, after a court rejected its latest proposed settlement. ^[35]
On October 7, a Los Angeles jury ordered J&J to pay $966 million to the family of Mae Moore, an 88‑year‑old who died from mesothelioma, including $950 million in punitive damages. J&J plans to appeal, calling the verdict “egregious” and reiterating its view that its products do not contain asbestos and do not cause cancer. ^[36]
Earlier this year, on April 1, a U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected J&J’s $10 billion talc settlement plan, the company’s third failed attempt to use a subsidiary’s bankruptcy to resolve tens of thousands of cases in one shot. JNJ’s stock fell more than 5% on the news, and the company said it would return to litigating the cases in the normal tort system. ^[37]

J&J continues to deny wrongdoing, maintain that its talc products were safe, and insist it will not pay more than the $9 billion previously offered in bankruptcy to resolve the litigation globally. ^[38]

Regulatory backdrop: asbestos testing and consumer products

The talc narrative is unfolding against a changing regulatory environment:

A recent Guardian report notes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to withdraw a proposed rule that would have required standardized asbestos testing for talc‑based cosmetics, alarming public‑health advocates. The piece highlights that talc contamination issues have been known for decades and specifically references J&J’s decision to discontinue U.S. talc baby powder in 2020 amid thousands of lawsuits and billions already paid in settlements. ^[39]

Separately, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Kenvue — J&J’s former consumer‑health spin‑out — and J&J over Tylenol, seeking to block a nearly $400 million dividend on the grounds that potential liabilities tied to autism and talc claims could render Kenvue effectively insolvent. ^[40] While the case primarily targets Kenvue, it underscores how legacy consumer products continue to generate legal and political risk for J&J.

For investors, these developments reinforce that legal outcomes could meaningfully impact JNJ’s long‑term cash outflows, even if the company remains financially strong enough to absorb large settlements.

How Wall Street Sees JNJ After the Rally

Despite the legal overhang, analysts and valuation models remain broadly constructive:

Sell‑side consensus: MarketBeat data show a “Moderate Buy” rating on JNJ, with multiple recent price‑target hikes — for example, Raymond James lifting its objective to $209, UBS to $214, and other firms moving targets into or above the $200s. The average target near $201 now trails the share price, reflecting how quickly the rally has outpaced older estimates. ^[41]
Fundamental valuation (Simply Wall St): A detailed discounted cash‑flow (DCF) analysis pegs JNJ’s intrinsic value at about $384 per share, implying the stock is around 46% undervalued even after the recent run, based on long‑term free‑cash‑flow growth projections. ^[42]
That same analysis notes JNJ trades at a P/E of roughly 19.9x vs a “fair” multiple of 26.7x, suggesting the market is still pricing in meaningful legal and patent‑expiry risk relative to the company’s quality and growth prospects. ^[43]

Dividend‑focused research houses and long‑term income strategists likewise keep JNJ on lists of “ultra‑safe dividend stocks” and “defensive blue‑chip bargains,” though many stress that the stock is no longer “cheap” on near‑term metrics after a nearly 40% 12‑month climb. ^[44]

Key Takeaways for JNJ Stock as of November 29, 2025

Putting everything together:

Bullish pillars

Consistent execution: Three solid quarters in 2025 with sales growth, margin resilience and repeated guidance upgrades. ^[45]
Strategic focus: The planned orthopedics spin‑out and the Halda acquisition both push JNJ further toward higher‑growth, innovation‑driven segments like oncology, immunology and cardiovascular devices. ^[46]
Robust pipeline: Positive data for nipocalimab and Tremfya, plus a broad late‑stage portfolio, support the idea of sustained mid‑single‑digit sales growth beyond current guidance. ^[47]
Dividend durability: A powerful multi‑decade dividend‑growth record and a payout that remains well covered by cash flows. ^[48]

Risk factors

Talc and Tylenol litigation: Tens of thousands of active cases, large verdicts like the $966 million Mae Moore award, and the failure of the latest $10 billion bankruptcy plan keep legal outcomes highly uncertain. ^[49]
Execution risk on the spin‑out: Separating DePuy Synthes and standing up a new public company adds complexity and transition risk, even if the long‑term strategic logic is clear. ^[50]
Valuation after a big run: While some models still see JNJ as undervalued, a near‑40% 12‑month return and a P/E around 20x leave less room for error if growth or legal costs disappoint. ^[51]

For now, November 29, 2025 finds Johnson & Johnson in an unusual position: near record highs and close to a $500 billion market cap, yet still framed by many analysts as a defensive cornerstone with potential upside if litigation risk is eventually resolved on manageable terms. ^[52]

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. Always conduct your own research or consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.

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