Pfizer Inc (PFE)

(Top Pick Jul 31/12, Up 23.84%) $33.22, 15.3% upside. 3.3% dividend. Nice upside in terms of model price and you can sleep at night with the balance sheet. 15-30% model upside is normal now.

His top pick in healthcare stocks. Really likes the large-cap pharmaceutical space. These are very low growth vehicles, 1%-3%. Thinks the stock can still continue to work. They are on the cusp of a new drug and this is what is really going to drive this stock. Relatively low payout ratio and a good dividend yield and they are no longer relying on promotions, they are actually doing some real R&D. Pipeline is fairly robust and it is increasingly going to move outside of North America. Trading at about 12X forward earnings, but the market is trading at 15X.

(Top Pick July 31’12, Up 19.57%)

Pharmaceuticals have all suffered from pretty much the same problem, i.e., the billions of dollars they spend developing drugs which only last so long before going to generic. Stock has done well, basically because of cost-cutting and the yield play. Drug companies are starting to make headway and are starting to come out with compounds and drugs that are lapsing the losses. Would prefer something like Merck (MRK-N) which has a better pipeline and a better opportunity for growth.

(A Top Pick July 26/12. Up 23.85%.) Healthcare got zapped with all the other defensive names and he sold his holdings. He’d go back in on this at around $23-$25.

Undervalued for a couple of years but in the past year, particularly when the defensive stocks moved, it has had a 40% moved to the upside. Have a great distribution network.

(A Top Pick May 18/12. Up 23.9%.)

He likes PFIZER, and is currently buying for new accounts. Not worried about the recent profit taking.Will continue to have good earnings and dividend growth.

Sold his holdings recently. Healthcare, and pharma in particular, has been a real leadership sector in the US. He holds Johnson & Johnson (JNJ-N). He cares more for capital appreciation so this one is less appealing to him. If you are looking for yield and trying to generate income, this has an attractive yield and they have the ability continue to grow the dividend.

Very well run company and pays a nice dividend. A blue chip pharmaceutical company and is an excellent way to participate in that sector. Stock has risen very nicely over the last year but on a 10 year basis it probably hasn’t risen that much. Trades at a reasonable valuation multiple.

This is a stock that has been a huge disappointment for every value investor for a very long time. It has had a very decent performance over the last year as the worries about patent expiries has died away somewhat. Pharmas as a whole have been a very disappointing group. This is still well below what it was 10 years ago. You get a decent dividend yield. You might consider buying the pharmaceuticals ETFs, which gives you a basket and you are not exposed to any one company.

What would you think about moving profits from this company into Microsoft (MSFT-Q)? Microsoft had a few downgrades as some of the PC numbers that came out were very dour. We should be very careful with PC companies and anything associated with them. However, he hasn’t been a fan of pharmaceuticals for some time. He sees a leaky boat that is leaking a little less than it was. A year ago, $36 billion of patented product went generic and about $18 billion this year. Lost 71% off their Lipitor product. Doing a good job with bringing on new drugs but earnings are coming from cost cutting.

Very reasonable multiple but not a whole lot of growth and earnings. Has come up as people have looked for dividend income. Pays a nice yield but he doesn’t see a whole lot of upside potential, particularly from these levels.

He is overweight healthcare in his portfolios and it is all non-Canadian. This is his main pharmaceutical name. Likes the restructuring that they have done. Have restructured and merged with Wyatt and consolidated down to what they wanted to be. Recently spun out their animal health division, which proved to be very good.

Up 27%, not including dividends in the last year. Decent and safe yield of 3.4%. Feels it has moved up because there could be additional spinoffs and activity in the company. Not a growth company at this point. At some time he could see himself rotating out of this to find more cyclical names or more economically sensitive names but for now he will continue to hold.