Update: Stock Picks for the week of 3/26/12 to 3/30/12

Welcome back to Dividend Stock Investing for the Common Man. Thank you stopping by and supporting the idea of investing in dividend paying stocks for the long term. I wanted to recap last week's picks for you since it is important to review all investments on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

As you can see below, it was a healthy eight days of gains in every sector. It was a 17 for 23 week. Six selections decreased in value while others had a pretty nice percentage gain for the week. BlackRock, Hershey's, UHT and American Town Corp. were the clear winners.

As a rule of thumb, always invest in high yielding dividend paying stocks for your retirement years. Continue to hold on to your stocks for the long term so the dividends have plenty of time to compound. Feel free to watch the videos below featuring BlackRock, Hershey's and American Tower Corp. All three companies will inject your Roth IRA stock portfolio with stability and profits via quarterly dividends

Until next time, happy investing, reinvest those dividends and let your smart investment decisions work for you!

Stock/Stock Ticker.. Quote @ 3/23/12..  Quote @ 3/30/12..  + or - week

BlackRock, Inc.(NYSE:BLK) $201.11 $204.90  +
BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) $7.27 $7.41 +
BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) $30.99 $31.39 +
The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) $4.93 $5.01  +
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) $83.45 $83.20 -
American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT) $61.75 $63.02 +
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) $32.01 $32.36 +
LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) $30.86 $32.00 +
Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) $143.62 $145.68 +
Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT) $38.71 $39.63 + 
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) $89.77 $89.86 +
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) $14.14 $13.60 -
BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) $45.59 $45.00 -
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) $8.79 $8.87 +
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYB) $13.63 $13.91 +
Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) $44.55 $45.06 +
Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) $37.64 $37.35 -
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) $34.95 $34.96 +
Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) $30.40 $30.87 +
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) $39.87 $40.26 +
The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) $60.52 $61.33 +
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) $70.74 $68.82 -
Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) $47.82 $45.35 -

Apple Joins The Dividend Club - Finally!

Well, it's official. Apple, stock ticker AAPL, will begin paying a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share. Although many expected a higher dividend, such as myself, beggars can't be choosers, right? As you can tell from my two prior Apple posts (AAPL - Apple, It's time to pay a dividend & Apple iPhone 4s, iCloud and Siri - It's dividend time!), I thought Apple should spend a large percentage of their cash on hand in the form of dividend payments to their loyal shareholders. With that 90 plus billion dollars in the bank I felt Apple should have paid a gigantic one time dividend. At least $50.00 to $100.00 per share would have been nice and then a quarterly dividend of 3% to 5% ($17.00 to $29.95). It just makes sense!

Apple has doubled 5 times over the last decade and is regularly closing in on $600.00. Apple used to sell for $8.78 back in 1987, $13.53 back in May of 2004, just think if you got in on this puppy back then! Don't beat yourself up too much. AAPL still has plenty of room left to grow and could very well perform a stock split. I do not believe in pumping stocks so their share prices become unrealistic, but AAPL could hit $1,000 per share over the next 3-5 years if they continue to product innovative, useful products.

Feel free to watch these hand picked videos below from YouTube which discuss this very topic. Long live Apple!

Stock Picks for the week of 3/26/12 to 3/30/12

Listed below are my top dividend stock investments for the Common Man for the week of March 26th, 2012 to March 30th, 2012. Any one of these stocks always make an excellent addition to your Roth IRA stock portfolio. They are reliable dividend payers and I am a huge fan of each company. It is fairly simple to invest your dollars into any one or all of these stocks. I will check back on March 31st, 2012 to determine how well or poor my picks performed.

Feel free to make a comment on this post. Let me know if you own any shares of these companies. Why did you invest? What do you like about the company?

Please continue to invest as much as you can each week to ensure that you have a solid dividend income stream of wealth! Enjoy these hand picked YouTube videos below, which include Whole Foods Market, Inc., World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., Altria Group, Inc. and Bank of Hawaii Corporation.

BlackRock, Inc.(NYSE:BLK) $201.11
BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:BGCP) $7.27
BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) $30.99
The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) $4.93
Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) $83.45
American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT) $61.75
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) $32.01
LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC) $30.86
Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) $143.62
Universal Health Realty Income Trust (NYSE:UHT) $38.71
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) $89.77
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) $14.14
BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) $45.59
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) $8.79
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYB) $13.63
Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) $44.55
Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET) $37.64
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) $34.95
Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) $30.40
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) $39.87
The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) $60.52
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) $70.74
Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE:BOH) $47.82

Note: Stock prices as of 3/23/12

BlackRock, Inc. - BLK

BlackRock, Inc., stock ticker BLK, is currently paying a $1.50 quarterly dividend to their loyal shareholders. That calculates to a current dividend yield of 3.02%, which qualifies them as an excellent company for the Common Man's stock portfolio. BLK has been increasing their dividend since March 5th, 2004 and it does not look like they are going to stop anytime soon!

BLK is an industry leading independent investment management firm. They serve their clients as a fiduciary, and derive all of their revenues from client business. BLK focuses on investment management and risk management. They invest in capital markets globally. Clients include taxable, tax-exempt and official institutions, retail investors and high net worth individuals. Their platform brings together active investments with index products and risk management to develop tailored solutions for clients. BLK's products range includes single and multi asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income and money market instruments.

In January of 2010, BLK completed the acquisition of Helix Financial Group LLC. During October of 2010 they completed the acquisition of all of the net assets of Primasia Investment Trust Co., LTD. Then again in March of 2012 they acquired Claymore Investments, Inc. from Guggenheim Partners, LLC. These are all signs that BLK management are on the prowl for new opportunities and maximize shareholder profits!

Please see below for BLK's statistics as of March 22nd, 2012:

52 week range $137.00 - $207.42
Mkt cap $35.58B
P/E 16.03
Dividend/Dividend yield $1.50/3.02%
EPS 12.38
Beta 1.49
Inst. own 64%

BLK has good growth prospects and a growing market share within their industry. Their P/E is still at recession lows. Their target retirement date funds continue to grow and show great growth in their iShares ETFs. BLK is definitely a powerhouse!

As previously stated, BLK continues to grow their dividend which is excellent for your Roth IRA. Their management team makes solid decisions and have proven results in every economic environment. In the last year BLK stock is up 10%. Additionally, earnings projections have increased over the past few months.

Feel free to click here to learn more about BlackRock, Inc. Also, click here to learn how to Invest for a "New World" (See video below as well). BlackRock is here to stay and in my opinion would be a great addition to your retirement Roth IRA stock portfolio. Let their dividend compound year after year and watch your money work for you!

Update: Stock Picks for the week of 3/8/12 to 3/15/12

Welcome back to Dividend Stock Investing for the Common Man. Thank you stopping by and supporting the idea of investing in dividend paying stocks for the long term. I wanted to recap last week's picks for you since it is important to review all investments on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

As you can see below, it was a MONSTER eight days of gains in every sector. It was a 17 for 20 week. Three selections decreased in value while others had a pretty nice percentage gain for the week. SMG was the clear winner with a $6.20 gain. "Woo woo woo, you know it!"

PLD, KO, JCI, EBIX, PCL, and VWO all have more than a $1.00 gain this past week. The over all net gain for the week of 3/8/12 to 3/15/12 was $8.70. 

As a rule of thumb, always invest in high yielding dividend paying stocks for your retirement years. Continue to hold on to your stocks for the long term so the dividends have plenty of time to compound. Feel free to watch the videos below featuring The Coca-Cola Company, Johnson Controls, Inc., and Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. All three companies will inject your Roth IRA stock portfolio with stability and profits via quarterly dividends

Until next time, happy investing, reinvest those dividends and let your smart investment decisions work for you!

Stock/Stock Ticker.. Quote @ 3/8/12..  Quote @ 3/15/12..  Gain of $18.86

Viacom, Inc.(NASDAQ:VIAB) $47.43 $47.62 +$0.19
Prologis Inc(NYSE:PLD) $33.90 $35.26 +$1.36
ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd.(NASDAQ:CKSW) $11.49 $12.12 +$0.63
Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc.(NYSE:PCL) $39.52 $41.43 +$1.91
Health Care REIT, Inc.(NYSE:HCN) $54.20 $54.81 +$0.61
The Coca-Cola Company(NYSE:KO) $68.79 $70.16 +$1.37
Universal Health Realty Income Trust(NYSE:UHT) $38.76 $38.68 -$0.08
Comcast Corporation(NASDAQ:CMCSA) $29.24 $29.50 +$0.26
Xerox Corporation(NYSE:XRX) $8.09 $8.32 +$0.23
AT&T Inc.(NYSE:T) $30.88 $31.59 +$0.71
Chevron Corporation(NYSE:CVX) $109.46 $110.28 +$0.82
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co(NYSE:SMG) $46.95 $53.15 +$6.20
Johnson Controls, Inc.(NYSE:JCI) $31.28 $32.66 +$1.38
ConocoPhillips(NYSE:COP) $77.22 $77.18 -$0.04
ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fd(NYSE:IGR) $7.76 $7.99 +$0.23
Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF(NYSEARCA:VWO) $43.45 $44.45 +$1.00
Vodafone Group Plc (ADR)(NASDAQ:VOD) $26.85 $26.41 -$0.44
Ebix Inc(NASDAQ:EBIX) $21.77 $23.11 +$1.34
General Mills, Inc.(NYSE:GIS) $38.46 $38.83 +$0.37
Realty Income Corp(NYSE:O) $37.12 $37.93 +$0.81

Whole Foods Market, Inc - WFM

Whole Foods Market, Inc., stock ticker WFM, is a natural and organic foods supermarkets. They currently operate 311 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their stores average 38,000 square feet in size and 10 years in age, and are supported by its Austin headquarters, regional offices, distribution centers, bakehouse facilities, commissary kitchens, seafood-processing facilities, meat and produce procurement centers, and a specialty coffee, tea procurement and roasting operation. Their 311 stores include 299 stores operated in 38 United States and the District of Columbia; seven stores in Canada; and five stores in the United Kingdom. It owns 12 stores, two distribution facilities and land for one store in development, including the adjacent property. It also owns a building on leased land, which is leased to third parties, and has one store in development on leased land.

WFM's 52 week stock price range is $53.32 to $86.00. They have a current market cap of $15.68 billion and a P/E of 41.44. WFM pays a current quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share, dividend yield of 0.65%, which is a great thing. It is hard to find a supermarket today which pays such a sweet dividend. Their current EPS is 2.07 and are 89% institutionally owned.

If you were able to purchase shares of WFM back in November of 2008 for $8.19 then great job! You are reaping the benefits of this revolutionary company. If you buy shares at $85.97 tomorrow don't get discouraged. WFM could double within 12-24 months, but always think long term. Ask yourself, Will Whole Foods exist 20-30 years from now? I strongly believe they will be. Although WFM has had a nice run up in share value during 2011 and 2012 I know the sky is the limit. They are raking in the cash which should allow them to buy back shares and increase their quarterly dividend.

Back in 1980, WFM started out with one small store in Austin, Texas. Today, they are the world’s leader in natural and organic foods. They are riding the trend of healthy lifestyles with strong execution in sustainable business practices which makes this company a long term winner. Infuse your Roth IRA retirement stock portfolio with this growth play while it is still under $100.00 per share.

With obesity rates in the United States rising year after year during the past twenty years and resulting in illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes it is great to see that WPM is trying their best to change the tide. Organic food is a rising market, and whole foods is leading the movement. WFM has the healthy lifestyle recipe down to science, and their ability to inspire customer loyalty is unsurpassed!

Feel free to visit Whole Foods Market's home page, here, and their Investor Relations website here. Also watch these great videos below featuring John Mackey (Co-CEO) and a nice tour of a Whole Foods market in Edgewater, New Jersey and Austin, Tx. Until next time, continue to invest as much as you can on a weekly basis and watch your money work for you!

Strayer Education Inc - STRA

Strayer Education, Inc., stock ticker STRA on the NASDAQ provides post-secondary education services. You might be saying to yourself, Why would I want to invest in an education "company"? Well, STRA pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend and is selling at $98.34 compared to $254.50 back on April 16th, 2010. STRA was listed as 1 of 10 highly shorted stocks with strong profitability by Seeking Alpha. For-profit secondary schools will not go away just because the government may change legislation or force schools like Strayer, Devry, Apollo Group, etc. to have to abide by new laws. Every child in America should have the accessibility to go to a non-profit or for-profit school.

STRA offers a range of academic programs through its wholly owned subsidiary Strayer University, Inc., both in classroom courses and online via the Internet. Strayer University is an institution of higher learning that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, accounting, information technology, education, health care, public administration and criminal justice at 92 physical campuses in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., and online. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had opened 78 of its campuses. STRA has also developed a robust online education program.

Back in November of 2011 Strayer joined forces with Jack Welch Management Institute. Feel free to read more about this relationship by clicking here. Also, watch the video below. Yet another reason to cough up some of your hard earned dollars by investing in STRA.

Strayer has been caught between the federal and short seller cross hairs but they have shown no signs of deterioration from the analysts following the stock. STRA expanded with eight additional new campuses during 2011. They increased their quarterly dividend from 75 cents to $1.

STRA is a high-quality company and should be around forever. Yes, there are no true guarantees, but if you are looking for a safe stock to invest in, which pays a 4.07% dividend yield and could triple in stock valuation over the course of the next few years, well then look no further than STRA.

Visit Strayer's homepage, here, and their Investor Relations webpage, here. Enjoy the videos below!

Walgreen Company - WAG

Walgreen Company, stock ticker WAG, has swag. They pay a sweet 22 cents per share quarterly dividend, which is a current dividend yield of 2.69% and are taking over the entire continental United States. If you do not have a Walgreen's in your town, believe me WAG is on their way. One will pop up in your area and you will find yourself going there whether you like it or not! For medicine, jelly beans, or a birthday card. WAG is gonna get you! True, Wal-mart or GIANT Foodstores also have pharmacies, but do they provide the upscale quality that Walgreen's gives to the public. There is something to be said about how classy and organized each Walgreen's store is presented.

WAG together with their subsidiaries operate drugstore chains in the United States. They provide their customers with multichannel access to consumer goods and services, and pharmacy, health and wellness services. Walgreen's offers their products and services through drugstores, as well as through mail, by telephone, and via the Internet. They sell prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as general merchandise, including household products, convenience foods, personal care, beauty care, candy (my personal favorite), photofinishing and seasonal items. Their pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility, long-term care and mail service, along with pharmacy benefit solutions and respiratory services.

In January 2010, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of 12 Eaton Apothecary pharmacies in the Boston area from D.A.W., Inc., a subsidiary of Nyer Medical Group, Inc. WAG has a market cap of $29.24 billion, P/E of 11.37, EPS of 2.95 and are 66% institutionally owned.

Fact: Walgreen's is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion. The company operates 7,840 drugstores in ALL 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, their services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreen's subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of work site health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

WAG is selling at a low right now, $33.48 as of March 9th, 2012. Their 52 week range is $30.34 to $47.11. They have a lot of room to grow. Their management team is conservative, they provide a wide variety of merchandise in stores, and their dividend is modest and easily sustainable. Yes, WAG is in a low margin business and analysts of the company are wary about their future earnings, however WAG customer are not running away and will keep buying month after month. Why not take the advantage to stock up some shares and wait for WAG to increase in value while reaping the benefits of reinvesting that 22 cents per share dividend?

Click here to visit Walgreen's webpage and get to know this powerful company who has been around since 1901! 6.1 million daily customers would agree, Walgreen's is here to stay. I believe WAG will make an excellent addition to your Roth IRA stock portfolio. It's all about picking up some shares when the price is low, hold for as long as you can and let those dividends pile up. Believe me, you will need a steady income stream when you retire, so don't mess around with hot companies which will fizzle out.

Please watch these videos below about Walgreen's and be proud to own a piece of this solid company. Until next time friends, reinvest your dividends and keep investing as much money as you can each week. Have a great weekend!

Stock Picks for the week of 3/8/12 to 3/15/12

Listed below are my top dividend stock investments for the Common Man for the week of March 8th, 2012 to March 15th, 2012. Any one of these stocks always make an excellent addition to your Roth IRA stock portfolio. They are reliable dividend payers and I am a huge fan of each company. It is fairly simple to invest your dollars into any one or all of these stocks. I will check back on March 16th, 2012 to determine how well or poor my picks performed. Continue to invest as much as you can each week to ensure that you have a solid dividend income stream of wealth! Have a great week!

Additionally, enjoy these hand picked YouTube videos below, which include Realty Income Corp, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., and Ebix, Inc.


Viacom, Inc.(NASDAQ:VIAB)
Prologis Inc(NYSE:PLD)
ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd.(NASDAQ:CKSW)
Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc.(NYSE:PCL)
Health Care REIT, Inc.(NYSE:HCN)
The Coca-Cola Company(NYSE:KO)
Universal Health Realty Income Trust(NYSE:UHT)
Comcast Corporation(NASDAQ:CMCSA)
Xerox Corporation(NYSE:XRX)
AT&T Inc.(NYSE:T)
Chevron Corporation(NYSE:CVX)
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co(NYSE:SMG)
Johnson Controls, Inc.(NYSE:JCI)
ConocoPhillips(NYSE:COP)
ING Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fd(NYSE:IGR)
Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF(NYSEARCA:VWO)
Vodafone Group Plc (ADR)(NASDAQ:VOD)
Ebix Inc(NASDAQ:EBIX)
General Mills, Inc.(NYSE:GIS)
Realty Income Corp(NYSE:O)


Note: Stock prices as of 3/7/12

Apple Should Pay A Dividend

With 90 billion dollars in the bank I believe Apple, stock ticker AAPL, should start thinking about paying their loyal shareholders a hefty dividend. Not just a 2% dividend yield, but a gigantic one time dividend, then a quarterly dividend of 3 to 5%. Apple has doubled 5 times over the last decade and is closing in on $600.00!

I am a huge fan of Apple. They will continue to develop futuristic products for the Common Man's needs. Now is the time to congratulate their investors with a hefty quarterly dividend. Sorry to sound redundant but if  AAPL can create the iPad 2 then why can they not unload some of their profits to the loyal shareholders? Now is the time!

Some are saying AAPL will hit $1,000.00, check out this YouTube video below. Also, an additional video about AAPL with the argument Why an Apple dividend would be bad for investors?

What are your thoughts? Pay a dividend or continue to hoard their cash? A dividend would be an excellent way to reward shareholders, who ultimately are most likely consumers of their products as well.

BGC Partners, Inc. - BGCP

Stock ticker BGCP pays a 17 cent quarterly dividend, which is currently an 8.98% dividend yield. With shares selling at $7.57 per share I don't see how anyone would not want to get in on this financially solid company. BGCP's CEO Howard W. Lutnick was on television the other day stating that their dividend is safe and healthy. He could not see a reason why they would not be able to continue paying the 17 cents per share.

BGC Partners, Inc. is a global financial intermediary to the financial markets specializing in the brokering of a range of financial products, including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives, commodities, futures, structured products and other instruments. They also provide a range of services, including trade execution, broker-dealer services, clearing, processing, information, and other back office services, to a range of financial and non-financial institutions. Through their eSpeed and BGCantor Market Data brands, they also offers financial technology solutions, market data, and analytics related to select financial instruments and markets. BGCP's customers include banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments and investment firms.

BGCP has a market cap of $999.75 million dollars, P/E of 53.71 and a current 52 week average of $5.40 to $9.94. They are 43% institutionally owned which is nice to see with a semi-smaller company. BGCP has 11% inside ownership, which is a clear sign that the dividend will not be cut. I do not envision the stock price falling due to BGCP having $3.00 of cash on hand per share. They have beat the market on earnings during the last few quarters. I think they will have continued success if the market continues to either hold or rise, which in that case the dividend gives you some downside protection.

I am not a fan of BGCP just because the CEO was on television. I like BGCP for their potential long term dividend paying attributes. Also, they are a major brokerage firm. Whether the economy is good or bad BGCP with shine due to the millions of transactions they facilitate. This one fact alone will ultimately bode well for your Roth IRA stock portfolio.

Yes, you will want to have the typical dividend aristocrats as the driving forces within your Roth IRA stock portfolio, for example JNJ, WMT, or KO, however it is perfectly okay to have a not so well known highly profitable company like BGCP added into the mix.

If you are in your 20s or 30s it is okay to take a chance on a company like BCGP. If you are in your late 50s or 60s it is safe to invest in BGCP due to their consistent quarterly dividend which will provide you with steady income as you head into retirement. Just think smart and be confident about your decision.

Please perform your own due diligence by visiting BGC Partners, Inc. homepage, here. While on their main page scroll down to watch a 30 second introduction video on the left hand side. Visit their Investor Relations page, here and listen to BGC's Q4 2011 Earnings Conference Call. What a great quarter! Also, check out these great videos from YouTube. Thanks for your time and support. Always remember, I am not associated with any company I blog about, I'm just looking out for the Common Man! Have a great day!