4 Dividend-Paying Stocks Top Managers Like

Each quarter, we take a look at the recent transactions of some top money managers--who we call our Ultimate Stock-Pickers.

Today we’re looking at four dividend-paying stocks that are among the most widely held within this group.

Sixteen of our managers own Comcast (CMCSA). Morningstar awards Comcast a wide economic moat with a stable moat trend. We think Comcast’s core cable business, which accounts for more than half of the firm’s value, enjoys significant competitive advantages. The stock yields about 2% today, and we think shares are worth $47 apiece.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) appears in the portfolios of 12 of the Ultimate Stock-Pickers. We think the company stands alone as a leader across the major healthcare industries, maintaining a diverse revenue base, a developing research pipeline, and exceptional cash flow generation. The wide-moat firm yields about 2.7%. We peg its fair value at $141.

Eleven top managers own Pepsi (PEP) and Cisco Systems (CSCO).

While Pepsi remains a beverage giant, its exploits now extend beyond this industry. In our view, a diversified portfolio across snacks and beverages is the crux of many of the company’s competitive advantages. We assign Pepsi a wide moat. It yields about 3.1%, and we estimate shares are worth $140.

Lastly, we think Cisco remains a networking equipment leader and continues to execute on its strategic focus of increasing recurring revenue by selling software and services to supplement its hardware products. We assign Cisco a narrow moat. It yields about 3.6% today, and we think shares are worth $48.

Analysts Nupur Balain, Mark Cash, Eric Compton, Damien Conover, Mike Hodel, and Nicholas Johnson provided the research for this segment.