Sysco Corp

A look at where Parnassus Investments has focused its recent efforts.

The narrow-moat firm's results show that it is withstanding intense competitive and macro headwinds well, and our long-term outlook remains.

Cost pressures remain, but we still think the narrow-moat firm benefits from its scale advantages and low-cost position.

With shares trading in line with our valuation, we'd suggest investors await a more attractive entry point.

Though we'll likely raise our fair value estimate by a dollar or two on the narrow-moat firm, we don't view the risk/reward opportunity as attractive.

Fox, Disney, and Time Warner will report this week. Plus, job openings data and a consumer sentiment reading.

Our top managers were net sellers during the most recent period but still found several names worth buying.

We'll likely increase our fair value estimate of the narrow-moat food distributor by a few dollars, but we think investors should remain on the sidelines for now.

Ahead of our conversation with Stephen Yacktman, Dennis Lynch, and Michael Keller at the Morningstar Investment Conference, we examine their top holdings and where they are putting money to work today.

Readers tell us about their favorite dividend-paying stocks and income-focused mutual funds, ETFs, and closed-end funds.

Even without US Foods, Sysco's vast scale is advantageous as fixed costs plague industry profits.

Our Ultimate Stock-Pickers Index continues to beat the market even as relatively few of our top managers are outperforming the S&P 500.

But the US Foods deal would cement the food distributor's leading competitive edge.

Morningstar's Josh Peters shares his strategies for assessing company-specific and macro-related risks when constructing a dividend portfolio.

With roughly two thirds of this sector enjoying a narrow or wide economic moat, we continue to find pockets of opportunity when short-term concerns outweigh our forecasted long-term growth trajectories.

Our top managers remain cautious, focusing more on relative valuation and increasing their willingness to book gains in the face of a rising (but potentially overvalued) market.

Investors need to optimize total return with a good mix of dividend yield, growth, and quality, says Morningstar's Josh Peters.

This week: Baby steps in D.C., lululemon takes a hit, a wide moat gets wider, and more.

Investors shouldn't focus just on yield, but also on other factors, such as dividend growth rates and company familiarity, when considering selling dividend payers, says DividendInvestor editor Josh Peters.

Morningstar StockInvestor editor Matt Coffina discusses recent additions to the Wide Moat Focus Index.