Do You Like Dividends? Look At This…

Blue chips were higher as the Dow made a high for
the year, but the S&P and Nasdaq lagged.  Energy stocks continue
to trade at historic highs. 

Jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 5 fell 13,000 to 303,000, a four-year
low. The 4-week moving average fell 16,500 to 315,500. The trade gap for
December narrowed to $56.4 billion; the record November number was revised to
$59.3 billion vs. $60.3 billion. The 2004 deficit was $617.7 billion.

Verizon
(
VZ |
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PowerRating) has made an informal offer to buy MCI
(
MCIP |
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PowerRating),
near the $6.3 billion that Qwest has suggested.

Aetna
(
AET |
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News |
PowerRating) reported better-than-expected earnings, doubled its
dividend and announced a 2:1 split.

Ericson
(
ERICY |
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PowerRating) beat estimates but gross margins fell short.
Shares traded down in Europe.

After the close, Dell
(
DELL |
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PowerRating) reported 0.37 vs a 0.36 estimate.
Net income was $667 million  Revenue was $13.46 vs $11 billion, up 11%. The
stock traded down after hours.

Today, the Nasdaq began trading on–the Nasdaq! Symbol: NDAQ. Thomas
Weisel Partners and Sandler O’Neill co-managed the secondary offering, which was
priced at $9.00. NDAQ closed at 10.52.

Sixty-three of the S&P 500 companies have increased their dividends this
year. Just today, the following companies increased theirs: Aetna (AET),
doubled; Black & Decker (BDK), by 1/3; Colgate (CL) by 21%;
Occidental Pete (OXY) by 13%; and Diebold (DBD) by 11%.

Remember, the Google
(
GOOG |
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PowerRating) lock-up period ends on

Valentine’s Day;  177 million shares
become available for sale.

Two IPOs of note today: Syniversa Holdings
(
SVR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). The talk was
$16-22 and the stock came at $16. Prestige Brands
(
PBH |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was priced at
$16 after boosting the number of shares by 4.7 million. The company makes Spic
and Span, Comet, Chloraseptic and other household brand name products.

Stocks in the News

GlaxoSmithKline
(
GSK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was in-line, posting a 24% rise in Q4
profits. 

Vertex
Pharmaceutical (VRTX)
beat by 0.06, reporting a narrower loss, ex-items.

Napster (NAPS)
missed by 0.03 but had strong subscription growth and raised its forecast.

Whole Foods (WFMI)
beat by 0.05 and beat on revenues.

MetLife (MET)
beat by 0.04, ex-items. Lincoln National (LNC)
beat by 0.09.