Johnson & Johnson to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.24 (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 2nd,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of 1.24 per share on Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%.

Johnson & Johnson has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 63 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson has a payout ratio of 46.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to earn $10.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.0%.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

JNJ opened at $144.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $346.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.23. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $142.75 and a 1 year high of $168.85.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The business had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Johnson & Johnson’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,220. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $169.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.73.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.