We have written at great length about the struggle dividend-paying stocks had in 2015. With an eye constantly focused on the Federal Reserve lifting interest rates, investors avoided dividend stocks for more momentum growth companies. Many Wall Street analysts feel that dividend stocks will come back in favor next year, and combined with an overall Wall Street preference for the technology sector, could provide solid upside for investors.

We screened the Merrill Lynch research database universe for technology stocks that are rated Buy, and also pay good dividends. We found four companies that would fit well in aggressive growth portfolios for 2016.

Cisco

This is one of the top mega-cap technology stock picks on Wall Street and perhaps a surprising defensive pick for volatile markets like we have witnessed. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) posted disappointing earnings in November, and many on Wall Street have lowered their price targets for the networking giant significantly. Cisco is also one of the 24/7 Wall St. top 10 stocks to own for the next decade.

Earlier this year Cisco won an important contract for the Verizon build-out of its next-generation 100G metro network. While Cisco’s optical business is small as a part of total revenue, this win is seen by Wall Street as a significant endorsement of the investments Cisco has made into its optics business.

Analysts across Wall Street point to an estimated double-digit bookings momentum for Cisco’s Meraki Cloud Services. Many think that Meraki is likely to be a $1 billion plus run-rate business this year, with an incredible 50% to 70% compounded annual growth rate. A jump from 40 GE to 100 GE data center switching and next generation security also are adding to the total sales profile and product mix.

Cisco investors receive a solid 3.14% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is $30, and the Thomson/First Call consensus target is $30.36. The shares closed most recently at $26.73.

Intel

This top chip company has traded sideways all year, and the recent very positive earnings report certainly has helped to lift the pall hanging over the company. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is one of the companies regarded as having among the highest shareholder cash returns, at approximately 8%, but it has lagged high-growth specialty chip stocks. The iconic chip giant had a stellar 2014 on the tailwind from continued personal computer (PC) sales, but this year has been a far different story. The stock has just now almost traded back to where it began 2015.

Intel recently purchased chip rival Altera for a massive $16.8 billion. Some on Wall Street view the deal pessimistically, citing its high cost, aggressive growth assumptions on the part of Intel and the increase in debt. Others feel the addition will help Intel start to move away from the PC dependence. The acquisition would put Intel into the traditional fabless market of programmable logic devices, but ultimately by 2020 50% of Altera’s product line could be manufactured at Intel facilities.

Intel’s NAND flash memory business has a strong focus on enterprise opportunities. Many on Wall Street think that the company’s new chip, which is a collaboration with Micron Technology called the 3D XPoint, could be primarily In-Memory compute in servers and its launch should coincide with Intel’s Purley platform server launch in 2016.

Intel investors receive a 2.75% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target recently was raised to $40. The target is $35.92. Shares closed Wednesday at $34.81.

Qualcomm

This top technology stock also has totally underperformed this year, but it is a member of the Merrill Lynch US 1 list. Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) is still a Wall Street favorite, and many are sticking to their guns, basically saying that trading at current levels, with the stock at 12.6 times estimated 2016 earnings, it may be a tremendous long-term value. Qualcomm is a quality tech company with recurring royalty revenue and a strong footprint, so patient investors may fare very well.

The company is reported to be losing chip business, and activist investor Jana Partners has pressured the company to spin off its chip business for some time. Jana also wants Qualcomm to continue to cut costs, accelerate a share buyback, improve disclosures and refresh its board, which it accomplished when two new directors were added last summer. Jana is listed as one of the company’s largest shareholders, with a reported $2 billion stake.

The growth of 3G mobile technologies in emerging markets, like China and India, has positively affected Qualcomm and could be a difference maker going forward. Qualcomm is and has been for years a market leader in the development of 3G CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technologies. It recently developed an LTE chipset that supports SCDMA (Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) technology. China’s mobile network runs on this, and it could provide the company with a huge leg up in years to come. The company signed a big licensing deal recently in China that gave the stock a solid boost.

Investors receive a 3.95% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a mammoth $75 price target, while the consensus target is $64.15. Shares closed Wednesday at $48.59.

Western Digital

This company is a long-time innovator in the storage industry and a leader in the total addressable hard disk drive (HDD) market. Western Digital Corp.’s (NASDAQ: WDC) storage solutions help to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. It is responding to changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Its products are marketed under the HGST and WD brands.

The most compelling news is that the company made a stunning $19 billion purchase of SanDisk. This could be a strong addition to the Western Digital current offerings, and it could significantly benefit from SanDisk’s technology and portfolio leadership in the NAND flash semiconductor and enterprise flash systems market.

The drop off in the PC business helps to spur initiative in the company’s cloud business, and analysts estimate that the company’s gross profit contribution from business critical (cloud) drives will exceed that of PCs by the second half of next year. Of all the stocks beaten down due to the poor PC environment, Western Digital may have the most upside potential, especially when analysts feel that in 2016 enterprise HDDs will have an average three-year cost of $100 per year, versus $500 for NAND.

Investors are paid a very plump 3.18% dividend. Merrill Lynch has a whopping $104 price target, and the consensus figure is lower at $97.59. Shares closed Wednesday at $62.95.

Combining solid dividends that are much higher than the U.S. Treasury 10-year bond, plus the growth potential of blue chip tech stocks, and that could mean solid total returns for patient aggressive growth investors.

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