Q: Pat, may I have your view of the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF? If one were considering a “Dogs of the Dow” approach, would this be an alternative? Thanks.

A: The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF, $31.17, symbol SDOG on New York (Units outstanding: 34.5 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.alpssectordividenddogs.com), is an ETF that applies the “Dogs of the Dow” theory on a sector-by-sector basis using the stocks in the S&P 500. The… Read More

Q: Hi, Pat. What do you think of Illinois Tool Works (ITW on NYSE)? It seems to be a very consistent and reliable dividend payer. Thanks.

A: Illinois Tool Works, $158.23, symbol ITW on NYSE (Shares outstanding: 318.9 million; Market cap: $49.3 billion; www.itw.com),is a multi-industry manufacturing company operating in 53 countries. Known as ITW, it has roughly 45,000 employees.

The company’s diversified range of industrial products includes aerospace technology, bridges, wind… Read More

Q: Pat, do you have any info on Iron Mountain, IRM on the NYSE? They deal in the mass storage of physical records etc. It pays a great dividend. Thanks.

A: Iron Mountain Incorporated, $32.17, symbol IRM on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 287.3 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; www.ironmountain.com), stores, protects, and manages documents and information for more than 225,000 organizations, including 96% of the Fortune 1000. (The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies… Read More

Q: Hi, TSI. What do you think about Open Text and its recent acquisition of Carbonite? Thanks.

A: Open Text, $59.33, symbol OTEX on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 270.8 million; Market cap: $16.2 billion; www.opentext.com), develops, markets, licenses and supports collaboration and enterprise-information-management software for corporate clients. That software finds, stores and distributes information across corporate intranet and extranet networks as well as… Read More