Any thoughts on Pfizer Inc.(NYSE:PFE)? They went downhill for a long time in the 2000's.

What are your thoughts about them? What do you like about them? What do you dislike? What's their "money makers" and what could kill it?

That was going to be my question for whoever answered. Where did you find the info and why?

I randomly picked them just to get someones take and then ask where they went to do the research. I've been looking them over on yahoo and google finance but can't seem to determine much from there. Assuming I need to do more research to see what their key money makers are, what they have in the works for 2014+ etc. Off to the googles I go.

Altira Group (MO)

https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYS...nPUugHx_ixB4N-

Bad because I don't smoke and am not fond at all of cigarets. Also the stock price is towards the top of it's 5yr high. Good or bad? Good because it's growing bad because it could drop anytime? Cigarette sales have steadily declined and not all have picked up on the e-cig market. Lorillard (LO) bought BluEcig which I see all over the place being advertised.

It looks good because from what I know of the tobacco market they seem to own some key players. They have a good % dividend pay.

This stock has been mentioned a lot in this thread. What's to like about it? With cigarette sales continually dropping and the companies offsetting this by an increase in the cost per pack how can they sustain?

its dropping off in our country, not Asia or Europe from what i understand. Plus they hold other companies. I' haven't bought any yet but i'm thinking bout it....

Redefined,

I usually visit the company websites to look at the company's products.

http://www.pfizer.com/ for example

You heard of Viagra? lol Do you like the company's products?



John

Let's please not turn this into "which stock should I own" thread..... the ideas and discussions would run 10's of thousands of pages and prove to do nothing but confuse people.

I'm not the thread owner - nor a moderator - so you guys are free to discuss anything you'd like - but once it goes into a "stock pickers" thread. You won't see me in here.

Asking how to read something you don't understand etc --- that's good learning for many folks... but trying to pick which stock each person want's to own and why.... that just turns the thread into an unmanageable mess.

99% of the time names are used in here is more for learning how to look at something rather than - this is what you should buy and why. So let's say you are looking at tobacco stocks -- then how do you compare a Lorilard to a Altria to a Philip Morris. Compare their total return - their dividend - where does it fit or not in your portfolio. This is considered a "SIN" stock.... so should be compared and thought of against other such sin stocks -- alcohol etc.

Now - just to answer your question -- Altria (MO) is in both tobacco AND booze...

Yahoo and Google Finance websites are really just for very basic information --- you'll have to log into a financial website such as Schwab etc to get far better details and research.

Yeah, its easy to get got up in "what" should i do....

But this is a "how to buy" thread, not a "what to buy" thread, although at times i wish it was hahahaha.....

I agree and that's why I ask those questions. My thing wasn't 'should I buy this' it was more of a 'how/where do I research'. If it didn't come across that way, sorry.

Not lookin for someone to tell me what to buy, just trying to learn where to get the info.

I tried my Fidelity account but I guess my account is just for my IRA's and not a 'brokerage' account. So maybe that other information you speak of, the info on Schwab, isn't available to me yet. I'd try Schwab out but sadly due to work reasons I'm unable to.

Well --- it is 'what to buy' --- as long as you listen to me!


NO ---- kidding


It is a what to buy --- but only more what to think about to buy as in great companies (vs something you've never heard of) -- and then researching what other companies that compete or are in the same category...

AH HA -- sorry if I mis-read your questions.



Research is "work" but I don't know where to tell you how to get it. We all have different brokerages etc. so it's hard to tell you what's available on yours vs someone else's.

Yeah, the info wanted you answered by saying at the brokerage website. Don't have a broker account yet, just my IRA accounts so that's prob why.

By the way --- I don't smoke or drink -- but I'll cash the check of those that do...

The whole time my wife and I were in Europe - she complained about all the smokers --- to which I would remind her --- GREAT!! SMOKE UP!! 'Cause they're paying for your trip.

It's about making MONEY -- not about virtues or vices... I don't bank at Wells Fargo either - but I own their stock.

Schwab has a good research tool.

In fact, from Greg's mention of that a year+ ago i opened up an account there JUST for that. LOL.

I'd re-read the first 30 pages of this thread. Its a keep it simple stupid approach.
When I first started I was a bit scared, and I spent days researching some of these companies.
There are so many companies out there it was a bit overwhelming but I had to keep going back to the principles that Greg has outlined.
Best of breed companies that pay a dividend. Companies that have been around before I was born, and no way they would disappear. Companies that continue to increase dividends. Companies that have show growth over 5 - 10 year charts.

Its not all about just looking at the research thru your brokerage account.
Greg used a bunch of names on here as examples. One he uses often is Altria (MO) he always said its a tobacco company. I Read Google Finace, Yahoo finance. I also went to Altria.com looked thru there website clicked on everything I could. I found they also owned Vineyards and made Wine. They made wine that was drank at my house A LOT! I didn't even know it. I had to buy some but only after I did some research, cause I need to responsible
for my investments. Some of these large companies own 10 different companies you won't know it unless you research it.

I have 2 accounts now. I have my IRA account (only dividend long term) and I have a personal account that I threw some money into (its a mix of dividend and some gambling) and am planning on opening a 3rd account and moving some of my savings account into. The savings account is just dead money its not making anything in interest.

Yup. Google is your friend. Everything you can find out about a company. Not just on Google/Yahoo finance. Thats just the pure stock performance data. Not really anything about the company. I would also take a look at David Fish's "Dividend Champions" list. Its a good place to "start". Its got companys broken down into Champions, Contenders, etc based on how many years they've continuously paid/increased their dividend. Gives you some names to start to do your research on to get your feet wet.


Careful with the "savings" dead money. You don't want to put that into an investment account unless you dont plan on touching it for 5+ years (from what i read, thats a good window). Last thing you want to do is throw it in an account, be down 20% and NEED the money. If you've got a solid 6 month emergency fund and have money left over (after all debt is paid, kids college is taken care of, etc) then yeah, get that extra money working for you. :)

Your emergency fund is your "insurance". Your Get Out of Jail free card. It wont make you any money (mines in a .75% annual return savings account. Its not much, but its something). But most important, its accessible in the event of an emergency.

I forget who asked about Altria (MO) --- but here's why I own it... LOL




01/10/2014 Qualified Dividend MO
ALTRIA GROUP INC
$12,000.00




That 12K is FOUR TIMES PER YEAR.... and taxed at 20% max rate.

Beats working for a living. LOL

01/10/2014 Qual Div Reinvest MO
ALTRIA GROUP INC
$52.43

:sieg:

:headscratch:

:smiley_smack:

Slight difference with only 209 shares!

:D

I'll be analyzing my current portfolio holdings for diversity and ranking their ROI this year, then possibly thinning some holdings to reinforce stronger dividend performing positions. Keeping it simple. :thumbsup:

Sieg,

209 shares x .48 += $100.32 ;)

John

Ding.......the 100 shares I recently bought must not have cleared in time to qualify as on-record. I thought they'd make the date as that was factor when buying, I'll have to check the details on this one.

Thanks.

You have a settlement date before they went EX?


When a company declares a dividend, it sets a record date when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. Companies also use this date to determine who is sent proxy statements, financial reports, and other information.

Once the company sets the record date, the stock exchanges or the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. fix the ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date. If you purchase a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller gets the dividend. If you purchase before the ex-dividend date, you get the dividend.

That's like the 10,795th thing about investing that I've learned from this thread...... another Weld-pearl-of-wisdom :cheers:

THE KEY THERE IS TWO BUSINESS DAYS.... Weekends are NOT business days!

I thought I honestly thought was ahead of the Ex date, but obviously I was not. :ohsnap:

Trade Date: 12/30/2013
Settle Date: 01/03/2014
Ex Date: 12/26/2013

Not the first time I've tricked myself.........regretfully it won't be the last either. :sieg:

That was TWO bags of dog food! :bang:

........and technically you're wrong. :lmao:

109.xxx in hand and 100 in the bush equals 109 x .48 = $52.43

:underchair:

So many on this thread have talked about using Schwab's research tools and utilizing Google and Yahoo finance pages. I also refer to Seeking Alpha and The Motley Fool websites as well.

......but does anyone have any other reliable sites that help doing research on a company that sells stock that interests you?? :y0!:

Okay --- but let's talk about a DIFFERENT WAY TO CAPTURE THE DIVIDEND.... and that is trading on the "EX" date.

So -- MOST (not always) of the time a stock will go down almost the identical amount of it's dividend payout on or near it's "EX dividend" date. So let's say
the stock was trading at $50.. and pays a .50 dividend - most of the time even if everything else is trading up that day - you'll see the stock trade down by 50 cents to $49.50. So if you bought that day - basically at a 50 cent discount - and the following day the shares go right back up to $50... you effectively got paid that dividend. You just got it as a discount rather than cash.

Now to do these things - a guy has to be pretty damn active and on the ball. And being on the ball can be very important....

But let's be real here -- it's one thing if you're trading enough shares to make getting that particular dividend "this quarter" (let's say the 12 grand I just got on my MO shares -- guys! That's real money I don't care who you are)... but it's another if you're talking picking up $50 for the quarter... You know - how much effort can you put in to making sure you're going to get that $50 dividend? Yeah it's $50 --- and $50 is $50.... but it's really more important that you just get in to the stock you want to buy or add... Because the day you bought and paid the full $50 each for the shares -- and you missed the dividend and blah blah blah ---- the next week might be the week the market jumps 5% and now your shares are worth $52.50....

So had you realized you'd missed the dividend payout --- and then waited a whole quarter to get in ---- you might have missed the move UP for the entire year.

But you must be careful (which is why I don't usually bring up all this kind of stuff in Investing 102) because trying to trade this way has BIG tax implications that must also be considered! So trading like that inside an IRA or ROTH is one thing --- but in a TAXABLE account -- there are taxes to account for! And taxes on trades can get real big real fast... there's a ton of rules a guy would have to consider... The WASH SALE for instance...

Let's not even turn this into a tax and trading thread... that's just a whole other bailiwick.

There is a website devoted to dividend TRADING -- guys trying to buy the stock pick up the dividend - and then get out and buy another stock to get that dividend and so on - I think it's mostly based on this theory that the stock dips on the ex date and recovers. I've never tried it.... but I'm sure if you're lucky enough and have enough time to "work" at doing that - there's probably a way to make money.

OKAY --- LET'S DISCUSS "OWNERSHIP" ---



You didn't OWN those shares until the SETTLE DATE -- 01/03/2014

So if you're going to try to capture the dividend and play that close to the vest on this stuff.... then you need to allow for the SETTLE DATE which is THREE BUSINESS DAYS. So if EX date was 12/26 -- then you needed to BUY on 12/23 and get a SETTLE DATE of 12/26 in order to be considered an "owner".


Oh the webs we weave!!

Was poking around my Schwab account this morning... and stumbled across this. I'm a shareholder in British Petroleum Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT).


So what I want you all to LEARN is to read this statement and tell me what the key information is that you need to KNOW if you want to buy a stock and pick up the current dividend.


Regular Dividend of $2.5278 went Ex: BPT began trading ex-dividend today, payable to shareholders of record as of 01/15/2014.


Could you buy that stock today and get the dividend?


What does the "SHAREHOLDERS OF RECORD" mean?


What does the "EX" mean?


What do you think the price per share will do today given that it went "EX"?


The devil is in the details!

No... Because it will take at least 2 business days between the trade date and the settlement date.

To be a "Shareholder of record" means that you actually own shares of the company on their record, which doesn't happen until the settlement date.

I've always taken the "EX" to mean "after the dividend" but that probably isn't technically correct.

The price per share will automatically drop relative to the amount of the dividend paid.

They were rhetorical questions -- but good to see you know the answer!!


LOL

I just want to reinforce these IMPORTANT dividend dates because the terms used can be glossed over by a "newb" and they're important. The MORE you have invested in the names the MORE important they become!


For example:


Regular Dividend of $0.125 Announced Thursday: F announced a new dividend to be paid 03/03/2014 to shareholders of record as of 01/31/2014.



The IMPORTANT date and term here is SHAREHOLDERS OF RECORD ---- and the Date 01/31/2014


REMEMBER that you can't buy on -1/31 and be considered a SHAREHOLDER OF RECORD because of the SETTLE DATE used by your particular brokerage -- Schwab is typically 3 days... your's might be 2 days or it could be longer! You must account for the SETTLE DATE if you want to capture the dividend IF you're factoring that in. Frankly -- I usually don't...

BUT I DO note the dividend date if I'm thinking about selling!! If I can wait to get the dividend AND THEN sell... why not. But of course - like most investing there might be reasons not to hang around til that date... so it all depends.

Every day I find a compelling new reason to own stocks that PAY ME to own them.



Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP) today increased its quarterly cash distribution per common unit to $1.36 ($5.44 annualized) payable on Feb. 14, 2014, to unitholders of record as of Jan. 31, 2014. This represents a 5 percent increase over the fourth quarter 2012 cash distribution



How many of you have gotten raises for doing NOTHING....



And to top that off -- the shares jumped over a buck today -- so you get your raise in cash and a friggin' bonus!!!

isnt that sweet they pay the dividend on Valentines day.

My son initially invested in them last year. Then the local "investing expert" from his work told him that for a small investor the extra tax paperwork for that particular stock would eat up any profit. In his words it's a fine investment for a big investor, but not good for my son, so he got out of it. I always wondered if that was true.

KMP is a "master limited partnership" and does come with a different tax structure - in that you are a PARTNER in the truer sense of the word... and because they distribute (by law) the profits per quarter you get a K1 tax form.

Because of depreciation etc --- they really distribute your original investment back to you so it's considered a distribution of capital or --- RETURN OF CAPITAL... That way since you're just getting your own money back -- it doesn't carry an "INITIAL" tax burden... BUT when you sell ---- now you're going to have to calculate what tax - if any - is due.

So a very good point Jody --- not a point I'd consider if the shares are held in a deferred tax account (401 etc) and certainly not if held in a tax free ROTH.

My income tax form last year was 184 pages ---- so I doubt it affected the overall cost of tax prep for me... LOL ------ And I wouldn't think for the average person it would take more than 10 or 15 minutes extra if they are using a pro tax prep firm.... BUT it is a point worth thinking about I guess.

I would advise -- and always have advised -- that a quick phone call to your tax preparer BEFORE someone gets into something they don't understand -- is a smart call.

I own a small apartment complex inside Gwen's 401K --- and I did that WITHOUT asking my guy.... and it's been nothing but a headache every year... to the point of my inquiring about just buying it out of the IRA and taking the tax hit. Seems the IRS doesn't like "PASSIVE INCOME" inside a tax deferred account so has mean spirited rules to make you want to avoid doing that.



So just one last thought on this -------- MLP's issue a K1 instead of a 1099.... and for MANY YEARS -- the "dividend" isn't a dividend -- it's treated as a return of capital. So there's no tax hit for many years -- in other words --- you'd have to have owned it for so long that you've gotten dividends that equal your original investment... Once you've reached that point --- all else that comes your way would be treated as "income".

So did I make a mistake putting Kmp in my 401k?

John

TurboTax easily handles this situation. It was hardly any additional effort, just enter a couple of extra numbers from the forms they send you and you are done.

Don

NO! That's the best place for it!