Astellas Pharma (OTCMKTS:ALPMY – Get Rating) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ – Get Rating) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Astellas Pharma and Johnson & Johnson’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Astellas Pharma | $11.24 billion | 2.47 | $730.68 million | $0.38 | 40.37 |
| Johnson & Johnson | $94.94 billion | 4.45 | $17.94 billion | $4.78 | 34.03 |
Johnson & Johnson has higher revenue and earnings than Astellas Pharma. Johnson & Johnson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astellas Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Astellas Pharma | 6.27% | 12.64% | 7.93% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 13.22% | 36.13% | 14.66% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Astellas Pharma and Johnson & Johnson, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Astellas Pharma | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2.46 |
Johnson & Johnson has a consensus price target of $173.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.34%. Given Johnson & Johnson’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Johnson & Johnson is more favorable than Astellas Pharma.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
0.1% of Astellas Pharma shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.9% of Johnson & Johnson shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Johnson & Johnson shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Astellas Pharma pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Johnson & Johnson pays an annual dividend of $4.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Astellas Pharma pays out 81.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Johnson & Johnson pays out 94.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Johnson & Johnson has raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years. Johnson & Johnson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Risk and Volatility
Astellas Pharma has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Johnson & Johnson has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Johnson & Johnson beats Astellas Pharma on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Astellas Pharma
Astellas Pharma, Inc. engages in the research, development, manufacture, import, and export of pharmaceutical products. Its products focus on therapeutic fields that include transplantation, immunology, infectious diseases, urology, oncology, neuroscience, diabetic complications, and metabolic diseases. The firm’s global brands include Prograf, Vesicare, Protopic, Harnal, and Funguard. The company was founded by Kenji Yamanouchi in April 1923 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
About Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and MedTech. The Consumer Health segment includes products focused on personal healthcare used in the Skin Health/Beauty, Over-the-Counter medicines, Baby Care, Oral Care, Women’s Health and Wound Care markets. The Pharmaceutical segment focuses on therapeutic areas, such as immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, pulmonary hypertension, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The MedTech segment offers products used in the interventional solutions. The company was founded by Robert Wood Johnson I, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson Sr. in 1886 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ.
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