The Dividend Daily

On Tuesday health care product maker Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said its fourth quarter profit beat Wall Street views while revenue missed.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $2.57 billion, or 97 cents per share, much better than the $218 million, or 8 cents per share, earned in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.19 per share which beat the Wall Street view of $1.17 per share according to FactSet.

Fourth quarter sales jumped +8% to $17.56 billion. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting revenue to come in at $17.68 billion.

“Johnson & Johnson delivered solid results in 2012 reflecting continued sales momentum in many parts of our business driven by our focus on delivering meaningful innovation in health care to patients and customers. Our results included strong growth of key products, successful new product launches, and the addition of Synthes to our family of companies,” said Alex Gorsky, Chairman and CEO. “In addition, we continued to make important investments building strategic partnerships and in advancing our pipeline, positioning us well for delivering sustainable growth as we enter 2013. I would also like to thank our talented colleagues at Johnson & Johnson for their extraordinary achievements in helping advance health and well-being for patients and customers around the world.”

Looking forward, JNJ is expecting fiscal year 2013 EPS to come in at a range of $5.35 to $5.45. The consensus view is that 2013 EPS will be $5.49.

Johnson & Johnson shares were down 68 cents, or -0.93%, during pre-market trading on Tuesday. The stock is up +12.2% over the past year.

The Bottom Line
We have been recommending shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) since Apr.27, 2012, when the stock was trading at $64.75. The company has a 3.33% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $73.23.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.