5 Best Stocks to Buy for Deflation

01. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q3, 2022: 85

Topping our list of best stocks to buy for deflation is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is an American leading Big Pharma company that specializes in medical devices and offers other medical services. The stock delivered a 3.43% return to shareholders year-to-date, and its 12-month return came in at 4.57% as of December 27. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has raised its payouts for 60 years in a row. It currently pays a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.55%, as of December 27.

On December 12, Citi analyst Joanne Wuensch raised his price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to $205 from $198 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. Looking into 2023, “many headwinds remain” for the North American medical supplies and technology group, but these should ease in the second half of next year, alleviating operating margin pressures, Wuensch tells investors in a research note.

As of the close of Q3 2022, 85 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database owned stakes in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), up from 83 in the previous quarter. The collective value of these stakes is over $5.4 billion. Among these hedge funds, Fisher Asset Management was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q3.

Here’s what Distillate Capital Partners LLC said about Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Johnson & Johnson was among the 2 largest trims at around 1% each. Each stock was up 1% in the quarter compared to the 16% price decline for the S&P 500 and the positions were reduced as the valuations became somewhat less appealing, though still attractive enough to warrant inclusion.”

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