I can't think of astock that's more hated.
We've written about this company several times before. And just about every time we mention it, we end up receiving nasty emails admonishing the fact that we would cover -- let alone recommend -- investors ownshares of this company.
In fact, it happens so often that whenever we cover this stock, I instruct our staff toput in a mention that thisinvestment isn't for everyone. If you don't want to invest in this stock, I can certainly understand. But if you have anopen mind toward thisblack sheep, you're likely to appreciate what it can do for you.
Simply take a look at its performance in the past five years...
In anotheryear marked by stagnating growth, a slowdown inemerging markets and uncertainty almost everywhere, the most hated company on the planet -- Philip Morris International ( PM ) -- is still making investors rich.
Unfortunately, I've noticed that more and more investors seem to be tricked into thinkinginvesting has to be complicated. Butstocks like Philip Morris prove that makingmoney doesn't have to be hard.
Philip Morris doesn't have a complicatedbusiness model . It is simply one of the most dominant and shareholder-friendly companies on the planet. The company does business in more than 180 countries and owns seven of the world's top 15 global brands in itsmarket .
But it has also made a mission of rewarding its shareholders. In the last five years, it has returned more than $22 billion in dividends while increasing the payments per share by 84.8%.
Today, the shares already pay a healthyyield of 4.3%. But if you bought shares today and Phillip Morris kept raising itsdividend by 16% a year (as it has averaged over the past five years), your dividendincome would nearly double and you'd collect a yield of 7.9% just five years from now.
Then there are the buybacks. Since May 2008, the company has repurchased more than $27 billion in stock -- or nearly 23% of theoutstanding shares . And the company recently announced another three-year, $18 billion stock repurchase plan that began a year ago.
All of these moves simply make the stock more valuable, even ifearnings don't rise a cent. And as you can see in the chart above, that's showing up in the share price as well.
Of course, with investing there's never a surefire thing. There's no quality a company can possess thatwill guarantee its success.
Action to Take --> But there's a reason I named Philip Morris one of my Top 10 Stocks for 2014 . When you can find companies that dominate their market and are returning billions to investors, these stocks that can still deliver strong returns in nearly any market -- including this one.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
