This big acquisition is still on track

Article Excerpt

NORTONLIFELOCK INC. $26 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol NLOK; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 581.9 million; Market cap: $15.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.nortonlifelock.com) last raised its quarterly dividend by 7.0% with the December 2019 payment, to $0.125 a share from $0.075. The new annual rate of $0.50 yields 1.9%. NortonLifeLock recently agreed to acquire European cybersecurity firm Avast plc for $8 billion. Avast makes both free and premium security software for consumers such as desktop security, and server and mobile-device protection. The deal still requires approval from U.K. competition regulators. That will probably delay the takeover until mid-2022. NortonLifeLock is a buy. buy…