Deutsche Bank Increases Price Target for Johnson & Johnson; Stock Remains a “Hold”

Deutsche Bank raised their price target for Johnson & Johnson( JNJ ) on Wednesday. The firm also reiterated their rating of a "Hold" for the company.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank have reaffirmed a "Hold" rating on JNJ and have raised their price target from $72 to $75. This new price target suggests a 6.2% increase over the stock's current price of $70.31, and a 8.5% increase from the stock's YTD price of $65.58.

The firm commented, "3Q12 beats; Maintain Hold Rating. J&J's 3Q12 EPS of $1.25 were better than expected on a slightly higher topline and lower SG&A expenses. Excluding FX and Synthes, sales were up 5%, which marks the best quarter in a number of years as J&J anniversaries patent expirations and sees growth driven by new product launches. The MD&D businesses continue to see more modest growth due to muted utilization trends."

Johnson & Johnson shares were up 79 cents, or 1.14% on Wednesday afternoon.

The Bottom Line
We have been recommending shares of Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) since Apr.27, when the stock was trading at $64.75. The company has a 3.51% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $69.55.

Johnson & Johnson( JNJ ) is currently 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 .