Three buys, including a payout hike

Article Excerpt

NEWELL BRANDS INC. $47 (New York symbol NWL; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 482.2 million; Market cap: $22.7 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.newellbrands.com) makes a variety of household goods such as pens, hand tools, coffee makers and baby strollers. It took its current form on April 15, 2016, through the merger of Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden Corp. Newell shareholders now own 55% of the combined firm. The company last raised its quarterly dividend by 11.8% with the March 2015 payment. Investors receive $0.19 per share for an annual rate of $0.76. That yields 1.6%. Newell recently agreed to buy Sistema Plastics, a New Zealand-based maker of plastic food containers. It will pay $470 million for this business. The operation should add $145 million to the company’s annual sales of roughly $16 billion. In addition, Newell will pay $100 million for Virginia-based Smith Mountain Industries. This business makes home fragrance products, mainly under the WoodWick Candle…