Summary CSCO continues to shift toward the development and sale of more software and subscription-based offerings so as to improve the predictability of its revenue. It has an extremely strong balance sheet and generates significant FCF on an annual basis. I expect investors will continue to be rewarded with double digit percentage annual dividend growth. [...]
Summary GIS’s revenue has been on the decline for the last few years due to changing consumer preferences. High growth Blue Buffalo Pet Products was recently acquired as management endeavors to offset the decline in other areas of the business. The $8B purchase price for Blue Buffalo which reported $0.319B in adjusted EBITDA in FY2017 [...]
Summary BAM reported strong Q1 2018 results on May 10, 2018. At the end of Q1 2018 (March 31st), BAM maintained core liquidity and uncalled private fund commitments of $32B. It also generated over $2.5B of annual free cash flow from its asset management business and distributions from invested capital. I wish to have exposure [...]
Summary CHD released its Q1 2018 results on May 3rd and upped its projected sales growth and projected organic sales growth guidance from that provided just a few months ago. CHD has outperformed its larger peers in the S&P 500 Household Products Index. I view CHD as having greater potential to provide superior long-term investor [...]
Summary PG has struggled in recent years with sales having dropped from $82B in 2012 to $65B in 2017. PG has recently signed an agreement to acquire the Consumer Health business of Merck KGaA, for ~$4.1B which will add ~$1B in annual revenue. Strong cash flow has enabled PG to shower investors with dividends and [...]
Summary MCD has significantly re-energized its business in the last few years under new leadership. The refranchising strategy has yielded significant cost savings to date. I am bullish on MCD but view it as being currently overvalued at ~$164. I would add to my existing position if it retraces to ~$144. Introduction McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) [...]
Summary In an effort to increase my exposure to the Industrial Goods sector, I have recently increased my 3M (NYSE: MMM) exposure and have initiated a position in Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK). I am looking to increase my exposure further and have identified Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) as a candidate. I viewed [...]
Summary MMM released its Q1 2018 results on April 24, 2018 and revised its projected FY2018 GAAP EPS while leaving its adjusted projected EPS estimate unchanged. In my opinion, MMM was overvalued earlier in 2018 and the recent pullback has prompted me to increase my position. The company’s stock price could certainly pullback further but [...]
Summary In my January 31, 2018 article I stated that I perceived Stanley Black & Decker to be overvalued despite the pullback from its early January highs. Subsequent to my previous article, SWK has retraced further. SWK released its Q1 2018 results on April 20, 2018 and has revised its GAAP EPS range to $7.40 [...]
Summary On April 12, 2018, Genuine Parts (GPC) and Essendant (ESND) announced that the companies had entered into a definitive agreement to combine ESND and GPC’s S.P. Richards (SPR) business. On April 19, 2018, GPC reported Q1 results which reflected double digit sales growth but income before taxes experienced some challenges. Management has maintained its [...]
