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

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 16th, RTT News reports. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 raised its dividend by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 62 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson has a payout ratio of 43.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Johnson & Johnson to earn $10.97 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 Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ traded down $3.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $144.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,682,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,188,024. 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 has a 12 month low of $143.39 and a 12 month high of $175.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $156.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.07. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 37.27%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on JNJ shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $177.31.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other Johnson & Johnson news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Johnson & Johnson 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 directly owns 4,099,575 shares in the company, valued at $105,810,030.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $22,099,078.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Johnson & Johnson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 90,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 54,386,720 shares of the company's stock worth $9,607,414,000 after buying an additional 54,326,454 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth $4,609,399,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 42,224,521 shares of the company's stock worth $7,458,962,000 after buying an additional 4,521,062 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 61.0% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,287,765 shares of the company's stock worth $1,868,351,000 after buying an additional 4,278,512 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake 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 during the period. 69.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.