A: Hillman Solutions Corp., $9.49, symbol HLMN on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 196.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.hillmangroup.com), provides hardware-related products and merchandising services to home improvement and other retailers across North America.

Founded in 1964, the company offers more than 112,000 products to its 26,000 retail customers....

We’ve said for a long time that growth by acquisition is inherently riskier than internal growth, since it carries an above-average chance of unpleasant surprises. Under the rules of financial physics, a buyer of something rarely knows as much about it as the seller.

Of course, some companies do a better job than others of choosing acquisition targets....

COMMVAULT SYSTEMS INC., $107.43, symbol CVLT on Nasdaq, makes software for large companies that want to protect and access their data from anywhere in the world. It currently has approximately 9,300 corporate customers using its subscription products, up 25.7% from 7,400 a year ago.

On April 16, 2024, CommVault announced the acquisition of Appranix....

RESMED INC., $216.98, is a buy. The firm, symbol RMD on New York, helps investors tap the growing market for medical devices used to treat sleep apnea. ResMed’s CPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure) devices are also used to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as other respiratory conditions.

With each new machine ResMed sells, it also acquires a potential long-term customer for replacement parts....

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $165.71, New York symbol IBM, is a top pick for 2024.

The company is one of the world’s largest computer firms, with operations in over 175 countries.

With the June 2024 payment, IBM will raise your quarterly dividend by 0.6%, to $1.67 a share from $1.66....

MCDONALD’S CORP., $270.31, New York symbol MCD, is your #1 Conservative Buy for 2024.

The company is the world’s largest fast-food chain with over 40,000 restaurants in 119 countries. It serves a wide variety of food but is best known for its hamburgers and french fries.

McDonald’s continues to benefit from its recent price hikes, which help offset rising labour and other operating costs....

BCE INC., $45.96, Toronto symbol BCE, is still your #1 Income Buy for 2024.

The company is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider. It has 1.98 million residential customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces....

We think investors will profit most—and with the least risk—by buying shares of well-established companies with strong business prospects and strong positions in healthy industries....

IBM, $164.43, is still a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 918.6 million; Market cap: $151.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%) has shifted its focus in the past few years to its more-profitable cloud computing, consulting and mainframe businesses.


In the three months ended March 31, 2024, revenue rose 1.5%, to $14.46 billion from $14.25 billion a year earlier.


Earnings excluding one-time items gained 25.2%, to $1.56 billion from $1.25 billion....

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $16.91, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 128.0 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 10.6%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 201 office buildings and nine properties under development, mainly in major Canadian cities....