PAYX

Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update

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Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more

Three Reasons Why Dividend Growth Investors Are Quite Savvy

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A version of this article appeared on our website on October 1, 2013. There are many different approaches to investing, but we think dividend growth investors are quite savvy, especially when they combine a rigorous dividend growth process in the form of the Valuentum Dividend Cushion ratio with the valuation rigors behind the Valuentum Buying Index. Let’s examine the three reasons why we think dividend growth investors are a smart group in the age of ultra-low interest rates. #1. Fool Me Once, Shame on You…Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me Today’s dividend growth crowd has seen enough. First, they witnessed the dot-com bubble (1997-2000), a period in stock market history where firms’ stock prices soared in some cases as a result … Read more

LinkedIn Acknowledges Its Stock Is Overpriced

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Business social networking site LinkedIn (click ticker for report: ) announced Wednesday afternoon that it would execute a secondary public offering expected to close on September 10. LinkedIn will offer 5,381,166 shares of its Class A common stock at a price of $223 per share for proceeds of $1.2 billion. When a well-capitalized company like LinkedIn offers stock, it can often signal that the company believes its shares are overvalued. As of its most recent quarter, LinkedIn had over $800 million in cash and short-term investments against no long-term debt. The company was also free cash flow positive (albeit free cash flow wasn’t robust) in fiscal year 2012. LinkedIn isn’t in dire need of cash, so we think the company … Read more

ADP Issues Decent Fiscal Fourth Quarter, Strong Guidance

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On Thursday morning, payroll processing firm Automatic Data Processing (click ticker for report: ) announced decent fourth quarter results. Revenue increased 7% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, roughly in-line with consensus estimates. Earnings were a penny shy of consensus expectations, increasing 6% year-over-year to $0.55. ADP benefits greatly from increased employment, particularly since the firm is synonymous with payroll processing and management. Revenue from its ‘Employer Services’ division grew 8% year-over-year during the quarter to $2 billion. Management noted that growth was organically driven, as the firm didn’t make many acquisitions. Bookings increased at a double-digit pace during the fourth quarter, and we saw its pretax operating margins jump 120 basis points year-over-year. Client retention for the segment was robust during 2013 … Read more

Firms Increasing Their Dividends During the Week Ending July 12 Included Paychex and Fastenal

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Below we provide a list of firms that upped their dividends for the week ending July 12. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports, please click here. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week ConocoPhillips (COP): now $0.69 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.66. Paychex (PAYX): now $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.33. Fastenal Company (FAST): now $0.25 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.20. KLA-Tencor (KLAC): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. << Last Week’s Dividend Increases Ever wonder why we use the Valuentum Dividend Cushion score as a key component of our dividend analysis? Click here.

The Valuentum Dividend100 Publication; A Must-Have For Any Income Investor

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Dividend investors literally have thousands of income stocks to choose from. So what are they to do, and where can they go for the most trusted forward-looking opinions on dividend growth and safety? That’s the question we seek to answer with our ValuentumDividend100 publication. In this document, we showcase the top 100 high-quality, dividend growth gems within our coverage universe. Whether you’re looking to build a portfolio consisting of high-yielding, dividend-growers or simply seeking to augment it with a few income gems, the Valuentum Dividend100 is an essential resource for any income investor. We outline some of the key components of our Dividend100 publication below, and explain how you can get the most from each of one Sign Up for … Read more

A Dual Focus on Valuation and Yield Is the Best Way to Combat Changes in Future Dividend Tax Rates

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With a potential hike in the dividend tax rate just around the corner, there is no more important time than now for income investors to evaluate their existing portfolio holdings to determine whether they are well-positioned for a higher-tax environment. Assuming there are no changes to the current trajectory, the top dividend tax rate is expected to rise to 39.6% next year (up from 15% currently), and the highest-income earners will see a Medicare surtax on top of that. Evaluate All Aspects of a Dividend Investment First of all, we think those investing in high-yielders (firms) at any price (HYAAP) may be most affected by this change in tax rates. These high-yielders at any price (HYAAP) tend to be favorites of those at or near retirement, particularly given the paltry payouts on fixed … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week April 30

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending April 30. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): now $0.16 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.15. Altra Industrial Motion (AIMC): now $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.06. Ameriprise Financial (AMP): now $1.13 per share quarterly dividend, was $1.04. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.6025 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5500. Ames National (ATLO): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Apple (AAPL): now $0.22 per share quarterly dividend, … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of May 3

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 3. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          Aena S.M.E., S.A. (ANYYY): now $0.621 per share annual dividend, was $0.360. Aker BP ASA (AKRBY): now $0.174 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.173. American International Group (AIG): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.36. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.7650 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.7075. Apollo Global Management (APO): now $0.4625 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.4300. Apple Inc. (AAPL): now … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week of May 2

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending May 2. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week                          American International Group (AIG): now $0.45 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. American Water Works (AWK): now $0.8275 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.7650. Apple (AAPL): now $0.26 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.25. Apollo Global Management (APO): now $0.51 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.46. Atkore (ATKR): now $0.33 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.32. Bachem Holding AG (BCHMF): now CHF 0.85 per … Read more