Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.24 on March 4th

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 2nd,RTT News reports. Investors 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 yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th.

Johnson & Johnson has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 63 years. Johnson & Johnson has a payout ratio of 44.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to earn $11.07 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 44.8%.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $156.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.52. Johnson & Johnson has a 1-year low of $140.68 and a 1-year high of $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.00.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JNJ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.67.

Insider Activity

In other Johnson & Johnson news, Director Mark A. Weinberger purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $147.22 per share, for a total transaction of $147,220.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $147,220. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.