Strong chip demand fuels TXN

Article Excerpt

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $187 is a buy. The stock (Nasdaq symbol TXN; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 923.2 million; Market cap: $172.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.ti.com) last raised its quarterly payment in November 2020. Investors now receive $1.02 a share, up 13.3% from $0.90. The new annual rate of $4.08 yields a solid 2.2%. Demand for the company’s chips has surged in the past few months as manufacturing activity continues to rebound from last year’s COVID-19 shutdowns. In the quarter ended June 30, 2021, Texas Instruments’ revenue jumped 41.4%, to $4.58 billion from $3.24 billion a year earlier. As well, earnings shot up 39.9%, to $1.93 billion from $1.38 billion. Earnings per share gained at a slower pace of 38.5%, to $2.05 from $1.48, on more shares outstanding. If you factor out unusual items, earnings in the latest quarter still rose 34.5% to $1.99 a share. Texas Instruments is a buy. buy…