STANLEY BLACK & DECKER INC. $108 (New York symbol SWK; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 153.7 million; Market cap: $16.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.stanleyblackanddecker.com) continues to upgrade its operations following several years of growing through acquisitions, including its largest, the March 2010 purchase of rival toolmaker Black & Decker for $4.5 billion in stock.
The efficiency improvements are freeing up cash for dividends: Stanley recently raised its payout by 5.8%. The new annual rate of $2.20 yields 2.0%.
Stanley is a buy.