10 Stocks Taking Care of Investors: No. 1 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

June 19, 2009 2:08 PM EDT

These 10 stocks have been rewarding investors with share buybacks, strong dividends, sales/earnings and stock performance and are worthy cornerstones of any portfolio. You can track the entire series here.

Number 1. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson is a worldwide provider of products in the health care field. Johnson & Johnson's operating companies are organized into three business segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices and Diagnostics.

Shares Buybacks: As of March 29, 2009, an aggregate of 134,946,100 shares were purchased for a total of $8.6 billion since the inception of the company's repurchase program announced on July 9, 2007. The company has about $1.4 billion remaining under the current $10 billion repurchase program.

Dividends: In April, Johnson & Johnson raised its quarterly dividend 6.5% to $0.49 per share. In fact, the dividend for Johnson & Johnson has been increased 47 consecutive years! The dividend yield on JNJ is a strong 3.5%.

Revenue/Profit: JNJ reported $63.7 billion in sales in 2008, up from $61.1 billion in 2007 and $53.3 billion in 2006. The five-year compound annual growth rates for worldwide, U.S. and international sales were 8.8%, 5.0% and 13.6%, respectively. The ten-year compound annual growth rates for worldwide, U.S. and international sales were 10.3%, 9.6% and 11.2%, respectively. Net earnings have grown from $11 billion in 2006 to nearly $13 billion in 2008. Diluted EPS have grown from $3.73 in 2006 to $4.62 in 2008. In its latest quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported EPS of $1.26, 4 cents above the consensus. The company sees EPS of 4.45-$4.55 for the year.

Stock Performance: Shares of JNJ are down 6% so far this year, versus a 2% move higher in the S&P 500. Over the last year, shares of JNJ are down 13% versus the 32% slide in the S&P 500. Over the last 5-years, shares of JNJ are up 2% versus a 19% slide in the S&P 500. Over the last 10-years, shares of JNJ are up 24% versus the 31% slide in the S&P 500.

With billions in past share repurchases and the possible announcement of a new plan, an ever-increasing dividend with a strong yield, solid revenue/earnings growth, and market-beating stock performance, JNJ is "taking care of investors."

Create E-mail AlertRelated Categories

Dividends
Insiders' Blog
Stock Buybacks

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• Dividend

Add Your Comment

Name

Subject

Body

Verification can't see the text?
click here to refresh the image.
what's this?