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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 15th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of 1.24 per share on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%.

Johnson & Johnson has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 63 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson has a payout ratio of 46.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to earn $10.62 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 46.7%.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Performance

NYSE:JNJ opened at $164.14 on Wednesday. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $143.13 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The stock has a market cap of $395.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.52.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.11. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.60% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm had revenue of $22.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $167.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $161.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.31.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total value of $930,113.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,131,683.38. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.