Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Declares Dividend Increase – $1.24 Per Share

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 16th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.24 per share on Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This is a boost from Johnson & Johnson’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19.

Johnson & Johnson has increased 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 62 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson has a payout ratio of 43.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to earn $10.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.4%.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Johnson & Johnson stock opened at $144.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $348.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.53. Johnson & Johnson has a 1 year low of $143.39 and a 1 year high of $175.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 36.43%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In related news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $96,142.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,099,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total transaction of $96,142.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the third quarter worth $231,000. Vantage Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Private Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. Arkos Global Advisors bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on JNJ. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.36.

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.