Johnson & Johnson’s Q3 Profit and Revenue Beat View; Forecast In-Line with Estimates (JNJ)

Diversified healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) on Tuesday posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings results and offered an in-line full-year forecast.

The New Brunswick, NJ-based company reported third quarter net income of $3 billion, or $1.05 per share, compared with $3.2 billion, or $1.15 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, adjusted profit was $1.25 per share.

Revenue rose 6.5% from last year to $17.05 billion.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of $1.21 per share, on lower revenue of $17 billion.

Looking ahead, JNJ forecast full-year 2012 earnings to range from $5.05 to $5.10 per share, which straddles analysts' outlook of of $5.08 per share for the year.

Johnson & Johnson shares rose 69 cents, or +1%, in premarket trading Tuesday.

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 3.56% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $68.60.

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 .