Do you like good deals? Need dividends? No problem. Several of the S&P500The actions of . Here’s a look at three of these best bets right now.

Pfizer

We can’t deny it Pfizer (PFE -0.66%) is not quite the pharmaceutical that was the powerhouse he was. Losing patent protection on its blood thinner Lipitor in 2011 was a blow it never really recovered from, but it would also be naive to believe that the company’s research and development (R&D) and acquisitions are as strong today as they were in the past. Meanwhile, the drug manufacturing industry appears to have become even more competitive.

That’s why, after a burst of bullish brilliance during and because of the COVID-19 pandemic (Pfizer’s Paxlovid was an approved treatment), this stock fell 53% from its late 2021 high.

The winds of long-awaited change are finally blowing, albeit in a way that seems more disruptive than helpful. Activist investor Starboard Value is shaking the chains, so to speak, call Pfizer for his failures on the drug development front and on the acquisition front. Starboard specifically points out that the acquisition of oncology company Seagen for $43 billion in 2023 has not yet shown significant benefits given its high cost, and adds that Pfizer has failed to transform the 15 drugs that he presented as potential blockbusters in 2019 in these main money generators.

In CEO Albert Bourla’s defense, the coronavirus contagion has slowed R&D at most pharmaceutical companies, if only by complicating the logistics of drug trials. Nonetheless, Starboard makes several valid points.

But what does this mean for current and potential shareholders? While it is generally best for an organization to recognize its own weaknesses and implement much-needed changes, Starboard Value’s involvement should nonetheless drive this long-overdue overhaul.

Besides, nothing in this drama changes anything in Pfizer’s dividend. Not only has it been paying one out every quarter like clockwork for years now, but it has also increased its net annual payout for 15 straight years. This sequence is also not really threatened.

Newcomers will log into the stock as its forward dividend yield stands at 5.8%.

Real estate income

Chances are you’ve never heard of it Real estate income (O -3.16%). Don’t let its lack of notoriety fool you. This $55 billion component of the S&P 500 is here to stay and thrive.

Realty Income is a landlord. It is structured like a real estate investment trust, or REIT. REITs are investments that trade like stocks, but pass on the bulk of the rental profits generated by that REIT’s underlying real estate portfolio. It’s a simple way for investors to get started in the rental real estate industry without the usual hassles of buying, selling, finding tenants, and maintaining a property.

There are all kinds of real estate investment trusts, from office buildings to apartment complexes to hotels. Even by REIT standards, real estate income is a bit unusual. His specialty is retail space.

This potentially raises red flags. The physical retail sector is largely on the defensive in the face of the rise of online shopping. Don’t get too shaken, though. Realty Income’s tenant roster includes people like Walmart, FedExAnd Dollar Generaljust to name a few. These are large corporations with power, in addition to their vested interest in staying put once they establish physical roots.

In any case, that’s what the figures for this REIT say. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting retailers in droves in 2020, Realty Income’s occupancy rate for the year remained at 97.9%.

These aren’t the only numbers that make a strong bullish case for owning this dividend payer which currently yields (on a forward-looking basis) just under 5%. Not only did Realty Income pay a dividend every month — yes, one monthly dividend — over the past 54 years, it has also increased its payments every quarter for the past 27 years.

Franklin Resources

Last but not least, add Franklin Resources (BEN 0.69%) to your list of S&P 500 dividend stocks to buy. It is down 43% from its post-pandemic 2021 peak, and 65% from its record high reached in late 2013. This weakness has pushed its forecast dividend yield to a healthy 6%.

Investors may know the company better than they think. This is the company behind Franklin Templeton mutual fundsalthough it operates several other profit centers beyond the Templeton brand. Technology solutions, alternative lending and real estate are all part of its wheelhouse.

Anyone who has kept tabs on this company probably knows that it hasn’t always been very successful. While certainly respected within the investment management industry, Franklin struggled to hold on to investors’ money in 2015 and 2016. You may recall that the market had been booming for some time and that investors were looking for performance beyond what this investment manager could deliver. .

However, a lot has changed since then. Namely, thanks to a few strategic acquisitions like call options trading technology company volScout last year, this mutual fund giant can now offer more of what investors – individual and institutional – are demanding.

It’s not really easy to see the benefits yet. The 2022 bear market that followed the end of the pandemic made it difficult to determine exactly how much business this company should do and how much profit it should produce. It’s easy to see that profit margins still seem small at the moment.

Despite this, the investment management dividend has increased every year for the past 44 years. Given that most of its income does not come from the performance of its funds but from commissions based on a percentage of the assets it managesthe cash flow it needs to maintain these payments is actually quite secure.