Here’s two buys, including a payout hike

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PFIZER INC. $32 (New York symbol PFE; IncomeGrowth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 6.1 billion; Market cap: $195.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; Divd. yield: 4.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.pzifer. com) is one of the world’s leading prescription drugmakers. Its top-selling prescription brands include Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex (arthritis pain) and Enbrel (plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis). Its leading over-the-counter medications are Advil (pain relief), Centrum (vitamins) and Robitussin (cough syrup). Starting with the March 2017 payment, the company will increase its quarterly dividend by 6.7%, to $0.32 a share from $0.30. The new annual rate of $1.28 yields 4.0%. Pfizer has now paid quarterly dividends for over 78 years. It has also increased the annual rate each year since 2011. Pfizer is a buy. NORTH WEST COMPANY $27 (Toronto symbol NWC; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 48.5 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Priceto-sales ratio: 0.7; Divd. yield: 4.6%; www.northwest.ca ; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest) sells food and everyday…