Stock Update: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Retired Johnson & Johnson CEO Ralph Larsen, 77, dies in Fla.

[AP] – Ralph S. Larsen, a retired Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO, has died, the health care giant said Thursday. Larsen, 77, died of cardiac arrest Wednesday at his home in Naples, Florida. Under Larsen’s … Read more on this. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , currently valued at $296.45B, opened this morning at $106.99. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $106.07 and $107.48 with the price of the stock fluctuating between $81.79 to $107.48 over the last 52 weeks. JNJ shares are currently priced at 16.39x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -1.58x earnings multiple for the same period. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $3.00 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.82%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 18 sell-side analysts are looking at $1.66 per share, which would be $0.10 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential increase. The full-year EPS estimate is $6.52, which would be a $0.32 better than last year. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $17.47 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.58% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Barclays downgraded JNJ from Overweight to Equal Weight (Jan 10, 2014). Previously, RBC Capital Mkts upgraded JNJ from Sector Perform to Outperform. The average price target for JNJ shares is $108.33, which is 1.25% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:JNJ) Similar Articles: Stock Update: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Johnson & Johnson to Participate in Barclays Global Healthcare Conference Stock Update: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Johnson & Johnson to Participate in the 24th Annual Credit Suisse Health Care Conference Stock Update: Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) – Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Announces Completion of the Divestiture of SPLENDA® Brand to Heartland Food Products Group