Walgreens Sells European-Focused Wholesale Pharmaceutical Distribution Business to AmerisourceBergen

Image Shown: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc is undergoing a major transformation. Part of that strategy involves divesting its European wholesale pharmaceutical distribution business, Alliance Healthcare, to its strategic partner AmerisourceBergen Corporation. Image Source: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc – Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On January 6, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA) announced it had reached a deal with AmerisourceBergen Corporation (ABC) to sell the “the majority of” its European-focused wholesale pharmaceutical distribution business, Alliance Healthcare, for about $6.5 billion ($6.275 billion in cash along with 2 million shares of ABC). Please note that Walgreens already owns a sizable stake in AmerisourceBergen as the former owned ~28% of the latter’s outstanding shares as … Read more

UnitedHealth Group’s Dividend Growth Potential is Impressive

Image Shown: UnitedHealth Group Inc has a tremendous dividend growth runway, one that is supported by its high-quality cash flow profile, pristine balance sheet, and improving near-term outlook. Shares of UNH have staged an impressive recovery over the past several months since crashing in March 2020 due to headwinds arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We added UnitedHealth Group to our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio on November 27, 2020. By Callum Turcan On November 27, we added UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) to the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (link here). The company has an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Growth rating as the firm is well-positioned to push through meaningful dividend increases in the coming years. Additionally, UnitedHealth Group earns an “EXCELLENT” Dividend Safety … Read more

Adding 5 Dividend Growth Gems to the Newsletter Portfolio!

Image Source: Mike Cohen By Valuentum Analysts We are adding five dividend growth gems to fill the ~10% cash allocation in the simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio that came from removing Intel (INTC) a number of weeks ago. Each gem will be allocated at a 2% weighting. The changes will be reflected in the upcoming December edition of the Dividend Growth Newsletter (see archives), which will be released December 1. Here are the five additions: Qualcomm, Inc. – 2% weighting Qualcomm (QCOM) has revolutionized the mobile phone industry. Through its own R&D and through partnerships with other firms, the company develops breakthrough technology and then licenses it. The firm has one of the strongest Economic Castles in our coverage. We … Read more

UnitedHealth Remains on Our Radar for Dividend Growth Newsletter Portfolio

Image: On a price-only basis, from the beginning of 2008, UnitedHealth’s shares have advanced ~600%, while the S&P 500 has increased ~150%. The measurement period covers both the Obama and Trump administrations. By Brian Nelson, CFA UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is a name that we don’t dedicate a lot of resources to, as we tend to prefer diversified exposure to the healthcare arena in both the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio via the Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV)–UnitedHealth Group is a ~8% weighting in the ETF at the time of this writing. Nonetheless, this Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) component has been under material accumulation of late based on its pricing action. Year-to-date, on a price-only basis, … Read more

Johnson & Johnson Once Again Raises Guidance

Image Shown: An overview of Johnson & Johnson’s financial performance during the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Third Quarter of Fiscal 2020 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 13, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported third quarter fiscal 2020 earnings (period ended September 27, 2020) that beat consensus non-GAAP EPS estimates and consensus GAAP revenue estimates, though its GAAP EPS fell short of consensus estimates likely due to turbulence created by the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Johnson & Johnson’s GAAP revenues were up 2% year-over-year last fiscal quarter while its GAAP gross margin stayed broadly flat at 66.9%. A sharp reduction in other expenses resulted in Johnson & Johnson’s GAAP net income more … Read more

Nelson: I’m Not Worried About This Market

Dear members: — First of all, I wanted to share a heartfelt thank you to all that sent kind words regarding the passing of my brother. My inbox was overflowing with your love and kindness. Len was a great person and my best friend. Without him, I don’t think Valuentum would have come into existence. Your words have been very comforting to me and my family during this difficult time. Thank you again. — With that said, I continue to be bullish on the markets over the long haul. We maintain our view that longer-duration enterprise free cash flows are worth more than they were prior to the COVID-19 market collapse, and valuation adjustments are being reset higher as a … Read more

Third-Level Thinking and “Keynesian Convergence”

Image: The analytical process of the Valuentum Buying Index rating system.  By Brian Nelson, CFA In the 2011 book, The Most Important Thing, co-founder of asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management, Howard Marks, divided stock market analytics into two levels of thinking, first-level and second-level. Marks used a few examples to explain the difference between these two levels of thinking: First-level thinking says, “It’s a good company; let’s buy the stock.” Second level thinking says, “It’s a good company, but everyone thinks it’s a great company, and it’s not. So the stock’s overrated and overpriced; let’s sell.” First-level thinking says, “The outlook calls for low growth and rising inflation. Let’s dump our stocks.” Second-level thinking says, “The outlook stinks, but … Read more

Update on Johnson & Johnson

Image Shown: An overview of Johnson & Johnson’s expectations for fiscal 2021 provided during its second quarter of fiscal 2020 earnings report. We continue to like shares of Johnson & Johnson as a top-weighted holding in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio. Image Source: Johnson & Johnson – Second Quarter of Fiscal 2020 Earnings IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a top-weighted holding in our Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, and we continue to be big fans of the healthcare and consumer staples giant. The company recently published some key updates that we wanted to draw our members’ attention towards. Before we begin, please note that Johnson & Johnson is near the front of the pack when it … Read more

3 Lessons in Portfolio Management Over 10 Years

Dear members: — We’re finally getting a pause in the rapid ascent of the markets on September 3rd. Though headlines may look scary and momentum/volatility investors could start to pile on to the downside, a modest retracement is actually a good thing. We continue to focus on the long haul with our processes, and we’re viewing the sell-off as profit taking, for the most part. — In the near term, the markets will also have to digest some speculators betting on mean reversion between “value” (cyclical) versus “growth” (secular), but we maintain the view that the value-versus-growth conversation is largely nonsense (see block quotes below), and mean reversion is something akin to the gamblers’ fallacy, in my humble opinion. Investors should also continue … Read more

Valuentum Website Overview

Overview of the key features of valuentum.com/ (03:55). Valuentum (val∙u∙n∙tum) [val-yoo-en-tuh-m] Securities Inc. is an independent investment research publisher, offering premium equity reports, dividend reports, and ETF reports, as well as commentary across all sectors/companies, a Best Ideas Newsletter (spanning market caps, asset classes), a Dividend Growth Newsletter, modeling tools/products, and more. Independence and integrity remain our core, and we strive to be a champion of the investor. Valuentum is based in the Chicagoland area. Valuentum is not a money manager, broker, or financial advisor. Valuentum is a publisher of financial information. The Benefits of Premium Membership >> Subscribe Now!