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• Stifel Nicolaus Starts Johnson & Johnson with a “Hold” Rating (JNJ)
• Market Wrap-Up for Nov.12 (SHW, JEF, PCP, JNJ, C, more)
• Jefferies Downgrades Johnson & Johnson to a “Hold” Rating (JNJ)

• JNJ 76% Rate It

Health care products maker Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) said Tuesday that its first quarter profit surged 29% from last year, helped mainly by one-time gains, as adjusted results beat analyst expectations.

The New Brunswick, NJ-based company reported first quarter net income of $4.53 billion, or $1.62 per share, compared with $3.51 billion, or $1.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding a $910 million one-time gain tied to a litigation case, adjusted profit was $1.29 per share.

Sales rose 4% from last year, to $15.63 billion, helped by more favorable currency exchange rates.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of $1.27 per share, on slightly lower sales of $15.6 billion.

Looking ahead, the company cut its 2010 full-year earnings forecast to a range of $4.80 to $4.90 per share, down from prior estimates for $4.85 to $4.95 per share.

Johnson & Johnson shares rose 23 cents, or +0.4%, in premarket trading Tuesday.

The Bottom Line
We have been recommending shares of JNJ since Oct.8, when the stock was trading at $60.71. The company has a 2.97% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $66.03.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) is a "recommended" dividend stock, 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 .

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