Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat, I would appreciate your assessment of the following stock: Johnson & Johnson.

Article Excerpt

Johnson & Johnson, $56.89, symbol JNJ on New York (Shares outstanding: 2.8 billion; Market cap: $157.8 billion), makes and sells health-care products. The company’s major business segments are: consumer (25% of total sales), pharmaceutical (38%) and medical devices & diagnostics (37%). Its consumer brands include Band-Aid, Tylenol and Stayfree, as well as Listerine, Rogaine and Sudafed. About 50% of its sales are international. In December 2006, Johnson & Johnson bought Pfizer Consumer Healthcare for $16.6 billion in cash. This purchase added leading brands and new segments, such as mouthwash and anti-smoking products, to Johnson & Johnson’s consumer division. Johnson & Johnson bought HealthMedia in October 2008, and two months later it added Omrix Biopharmaceuticals. HealthMedia offers automated online health counselling for companies to offer to their employees, and Omrix develops and markets biosurgical and immunotherapy products. In the three months ended December 31, 2008, Johnson & Johnson’s sales fell 4.9%, to $15.2 billion from $16 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items,…