Meredith Named Top Dividend Stock With Insider Buying and 4.48% Yield (MDP)

In this series, we look through the most recent Dividend Channel''DividendRank'' report, and then we cherry pick only those companies that have experienced insider buying within the past six months. The officers and directors of a company tend to have a unique insider's view of the business, and presumably the only reason an insider would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the open market, is that they expect to make money - maybe they find the stock very undervalued, or maybe they see exciting progress within the company, or maybe both. So when stocks turn up that see insider buying, and are also top ranked, investors are wise to take notice. One such company is Meredith Corp (Symbol: MDP), which saw buying by Director Meredith D. Mell Frazier.

Back on June 10, Frazier invested $800,700.58 into 15,628 shares of MDP, for a cost per share of $51.23. In trading on Thursday, bargain hunters could buy shares of Meredith Corp (Symbol: MDP) and achieve a cost basis 14.2% cheaper than Frazier, with shares changing hands as low as $43.95 per share. It should be noted that Frazier has collected $0.49/share in dividends since the time of their purchase, so they are currently down 13.3% on their purchase from a total return basis. Meredith Corp shares are currently trading 0.00% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of MDP shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, MDP's low point in its 52 week range is $35.03 per share, with $57.53 as the 52 week high point - that compares with a last trade of $44.23. By comparison, below is a table showing the prices at which insider buying was recorded over the last six months:

Purchased	Insider	Title	Shares	Price/Share	Value
06/10/2016	Meredith D. Mell Frazier	Director	15,628	$51.23	$800,700.58
06/10/2016	Edwin T. Meredith IV		15,628	$51.23	$800,700.58

The DividendRank report noted that among the coverage universe, MDP shares displayed both attractive valuation metrics and strong profitability metrics. The report also cited the strong quarterly dividend history at Meredith Corp, and favorable long-term multi-year growth rates in key fundamental data points.

The report stated, '' Dividend investors approaching investing from a value standpoint are generally most interested in researching the strongest most profitable companies, that also happen to be trading at an attractive valuation. That's what we aim to find using our proprietary DividendRank formula, which ranks the coverage universe based upon our various criteria for both profitability and valuation, to generate a list of the top most 'interesting' stocks, meant for investors as a source of ideas that merit further research. ''

The annualized dividend paid by Meredith Corp is $1.98/share, currently paid in quarterly installments, and its most recent dividend ex-date was on 08/29/2016. Below is a long-term dividend history chart for MDP, which the report stressed as being of key importance. Indeed, studying a company's past dividend history can be of good help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue.

The Top Dividend Rank'ed Stocks With Insider Buying »

By DividendChannel.com

Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/meredith-named-top-dividend-stock-with-insider-buying-and-448-yield-mdp-cm703615

How one trader plans to make millions on Facebook

With Facebook earnings around the corner, one big trader has an intriguing strategy for playing the tech giant.

In one of Monday's biggest options transactions, a trader appears to have sold 17,000 Facebook 100-strike puts expiring on April 29 for $1 each (in round numbers).

This could lead to a few positive turns of events. First of all, the trader took in $1.7 million for selling the puts. If Facebook shares manage to close above $100 at month's end, the seller will get to keep that entire amount. That's about 9 percent below Monday's closing price.

If, on the other hand, Facebook closes the month below $100, the trader will be forced to buy the stock for that price, even if it is trading well below that level. At the $99 level, once the extra amount the trader will have to pay for the stock dominates the $1 options premium, the trade will result in a loss.

However, this is where the second potential positive outcome comes in.

If Facebook falls sharply after its scheduled April 27 earnings report, and then rebounds nicely off of its lows, the trader will sandwich one negative event — being forced to buy the stock at above-market prices — between two positive events — receiving a premium for selling the put, and riding the stock higher from the $100 level.

This is why selling puts is sometimes described as being "paid to wait." That is, if this trader is 100 percent certain that he or she would be willing to pay $100 for Facebook shares at the end of April, the trader can go ahead and sell that put, thereby monetizing that willingness.

"It's a very shrewd trade," commented Dennis Davitt, an options strategist at Harvest Volatility Management, in a Monday "Trading Nation" segment.

Davitt points out that the volatility implied by the options price is three times higher than the volatility the stock has realized recently, which could be a sign that the option is too expensive — and hence ripe for the selling.

On the other hand, if Facebook falls as dramatically off of Q1 earnings as it rose off of its Q4 report, this trader could be out a good chunk of change. Each dollar Facebook shares drop below $99 will theoretically cost the trader $1.7 million.

By Alex Rosenberg

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/18/how-one-trader-plans-to-make-millions-on-facebook.html