Stock price when the opinion was issued
After spinoff, now just pharma and medical technologies/devices. One of 2 AAA-rated US companies (the other is MSFT). Pristine balance sheet forever. Divvy increases for 62 consecutive years, all from free cashflow. Crazy-cheap valuation of 14-15x PE, partly due to ongoing talc litigation. Yield is 3.34%.
Recent press release was like none other. Company stated talc litigation based on fake science; if the other side won't settle, JNJ will litigate each and every case separately. He suspects this is a ploy to force a settlement. Expects it to be over by year's end.
The consumer product monster has increased debt lately, but analysts feel comfortable with the low debt to earnings ratio. This is allowing the company to continue growing cash reserves. It trades at 24x earnings and supports a 20% ROE. We recommend setting a stop-loss at $133 looking to achieve $174 -- upside potential of 19%. Yield 3.3%
(Analysts’ price target is $174.28)