Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 20th

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 an increase 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 increased its dividend every year for the last 62 years. Johnson & Johnson has a dividend 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 current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.74. The stock 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 12-month low of $143.39 and a 12-month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 36.43% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total transaction of $9,281,969.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder & Johnson Johnson sold 3,725 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,810,030.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,607,414,000 after acquiring an additional 54,326,454 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,458,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,521,062 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,609,399,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,104,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,464,617,000 after buying an additional 4,021,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,694,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,234,000 after buying an additional 232,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on JNJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $181.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.36.

About Johnson & Johnson

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.