recent acquisitions

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK, $83.60, Toronto symbol TD, is the first of Canada’s big five banks to raise its dividend following the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The new quarterly dividend of $0.66 a share, up 8.2% from $0.61, yields 3.2% on an annualized basis. TD also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings this week. In the three months ended January 31, 2011, the bank’s earnings rose 11.0%, to $1.6 billion from $1.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 8.8%, to $1.74 from $1.60, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude several one-time items, such as gains and losses on securities the bank holds, and costs to integrate recent acquisitions in the U.S. On that basis, the latest earnings easily beat the consensus earnings estimate of $1.54 a share. More of the bank’s customers are repaying their loans on time. As a result, TD’s loan-loss provisions fell 19.9%, to $414 million from $517 million. That was the main reason for the higher earnings....

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., $42.68, New York symbol HPQ, reported better-than-expected earnings this week. However, sales fell short of expectations, due to slowing consumer demand for computers. That’s why the stock fell 12%. In its 2011 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2011, Hewlett’s earnings rose 16.8% to $3.0 billion from $2.6 billion a year earlier. Hewlett spent $2.3 billion on share buybacks during the quarter. Because of fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 27.1%, to $1.36 from $1.07. These figures exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate recent acquisitions. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus earnings estimate of $1.29 a share. Sales rose 3.6% in the latest quarter, to $32.3 billion from $31.2 billion. That was just short of the consensus sales estimate of $33 billion. Sales at the Personal Systems Group, which accounts for 32% of Hewlett’s total sales, fell 1.3%. That’s because an 11% jump in sales to businesses failed to offset a 12% drop in sales to consumers....

Symantec Corp., Nasdaq symbol SYMC, sells Internet security technology, including anti-virus and Internet content and email filtering software, to businesses and consumers. In the three months ended December 31, 2011, Symantec’s revenue rose 3.6%, to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier. The stock market investment gets 52% of its revenue from overseas sales. If you disregard the negative impact of exchange rates, international sales rose 5% during the quarter. The company earned $272 million, down 16.3% from $325 million a year earlier. Symantec spent $265 million on share buybacks in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share fell 12.5%, to $0.35 from $0.40 a year earlier. These figures exclude unusual items, such as costs to absorb recent acquisitions. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.33....

TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP., $45.63, New York symbol TUP, is our #1 Stock of the Year for 2011. The company makes high-quality products for the home, including plastic food and beverage containers and children’s educational toys. These products account for 70% of its revenue. The remaining 30% comes from its beauty products division, which makes a wide range of cosmetics, bath oils and fragrances. Unlike most consumer product makers, Tupperware mainly prefers to sell its goods through independent dealers instead of stores. The company now has 2.5 million dealers in over 100 countries. These dealers hold “Tupperware parties” in homes, offices and other locations to demonstrate products and take orders for merchandise. Parties also provide an opportunity to recruit new dealers, and make it easier to expand sales in less-developed countries with few retail stores or distribution networks....

ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES, $9.24, symbol AF on Toronto, has moved up over 23% since the start of this year, and continues to hit all-time highs. AlarmForce reports that it earned $4.8 million, or $0.39 a share, in the year ended October 31, 2010. That’s up 26.5% from $3.8 million, or $0.31 a share, in the previous year. The home-security firm’s revenue rose 8.9%, to $37.2 million from $34.1 million....

Ebix Inc., $23.58, symbol EBIX on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 35 million; Market cap: $823.9 million), sells software and e-commerce services to the insurance industry. These products help Ebix’s clients automate several routine functions, such as preparing quotes and settling claims. Based in Atlanta, Ebix sells its products in over 50 countries. International markets account for 27% of its revenue. The company has grown rapidly through acquisitions over the past few years. Since the beginning of 2008, it has spent over $127.2 million buying smaller software firms....

Cervus Equipment, $10.35, symbol CVL on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 14.2 million; Market cap: $146.7 million), owns and operates 30 heavy equipment dealerships in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The company’s dealerships sell and service equipment made under a number of brands, including John Deere (farm equipment), Bobcat and JCB (construction equipment), and Clark, Sellick, Nissan and Doosan (material-handling equipment, such as forklifts). The company also has interests in two John Deere dealerships in New Zealand. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Cervus’s revenue rose 21%, to $127.9 million, from $105.7 million a year earlier. The revenue increase was mainly the result of two recent acquisitions: Cervus bought Ranchers Supply Inc. in September 2009, and A.R. Williams Materials Handling Ltd. in January 2010....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC., $20.19, New York symbol BR, serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. Broadridge mails and processes 70% of all proxy votes. In its 2010 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2010, Broadridge earned $225.1 million. That’s up 0.9% from $223.1 million in fiscal 2009. Earnings per share rose 2.5%, to $1.62 from $1.58, on fewer shares outstanding. If you exclude unusual items, mostly income tax gains, Broadridge’s per-share earnings rose 3.3%, to $1.56 from $1.51. On that basis, the latest earnings still fell short of the consensus estimate of $1.57 a share....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $66 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 933.1 million; Market cap: $61.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.6%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) has six main businesses: Pratt & Whitney makes aircraft engines (24% of 2009 revenue, 26% of earnings); Otis makes and services elevators (22%, 35%); Carrier makes heating and air-conditioning equipment (21%, 11%); Sikorsky makes helicopters (12%, 9%); Hamilton Sundstrand makes electronic aircraft controls (11%, 12%); and UTC Fire & Security sells burglar alarms and fire-protection services (10%; 7%). The U.S. government is the company’s biggest customer, and accounts for roughly 18% of its yearly revenue.

Recession hurt growth in 2009

Revenue rose 38.8%, from $42.3 billion in 2005 to $58.7 billion in 2008. However, revenue fell 9.8% in 2009, to $52.9 billion, as the recession cut demand for United Technologies’ aerospace and building-related products....

Sanofi-Aventis, $32.71, symbol SNY on New York (ADRs outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $86.1 billion), is the world’s fourth-largest drug company, and the largest in continental Europe. In August 2004, Sanofi-Synthelabo bought Aventis and became Sanofi-Aventis. Paris-based Sanofi gets 90% of its sales from pharmaceuticals. Vaccines, which it sells through subsidiary Sanofi-Pasteur, make up the other 10%. Sanofi-Pasteur makes 20 vaccines, and is the leading supplier to the U.S. Europe accounts for about 37% of Sanofi-Aventis’s sales, followed by North America (33%) and rest of the world (30%). Its major drugs include Lovenox (strokes), Plavix (blood clotting), Ambien (insomnia), Taxotere (cancer), Eloxatin (colon cancer), Lantus (insulin), Copaxone (multiple sclerosis), Aprovel (high blood pressure) and Allegra (hay fever)....