UBS Makes Changes to April Dividend Ruler Stocks Portfolio

With the arrival of the second quarter and the earnings season, many of the firms we cover on Wall Street are making some changes to the top portfolios that they have put together for their institutional and high net worth clients. With the market in the midst of a seemingly very strong rally, many investors are keen to know which stocks are being added and deleted by the leading fund managers and analysts.

In a recent research report, UBS makes some changes to the firm’s top performing Dividend Rulers portfolio. We have noted in the past that this outstanding stock list has outperformed the S&P 500 on a total return basis, and on a compounded annual growth rates basis since its inception in 2003.

There is only one change for this quarter, the removal of Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE: TD). We highlight that deletion, and feature the three highest yielding stocks in the portfolio.

Toronto-Dominion Bank is based in Canada and is a stock that UBS had been very bullish on. TD Bank is one of the 10 largest banks in the United States, providing more than 8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300 locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Carolinas and Florida. The bank has continued an aggressive U.S. expansion plan that the UBS team sees as a strong adjunct to the Canadian business.

The UBS team removed the stock from the portfolio as it has ceased to have analyst’s coverage on the stock due to what they call a “reallocation of resources.” Investors do receive a solid 3.72% dividend, and the Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $43.23. Shares closed right at that level Thursday at $43.36.
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Here are the three top-yielding Dividend Ruler stocks:

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems and services worldwide. Its investors are paid a very solid 3.33% dividend. The consensus price target for the stock is $137.95. The shares closed trading on Thursday at $130.85.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. It designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world’s first commercially available “conflict-free” microprocessors. And Intel provides processors for all the Apple desktop and notebooks. Investors receive a 3.27% dividend. The consensus price target is $35.83, and shares closed Thursday at $31.80.

Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) is a financial services leader that has strong positions in equity exchange traded funds (ETFs). Invesco PowerShares is the boutique investment management firm that manages a family of ETFs. The company has been part of Invesco, which markets the PowerShares product, since 2006. The incredible growth and popularity of the product is why many on Wall Street remain so bullish on the stock. Invesco investors receive a 3.45% dividend. The consensus target price is $36.53. Shares closed Thursday at $31.31.

Again, as we have noted, the Dividend Rulers portfolio has far outperformed the S&P 500 on a total return basis since the portfolio’s inception in 2003. For growth and income investors, the UBS stock picks are among the best in the business.