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<\/a>Many of the stock market<\/a>\u2019s leading stocks (mostly blue chips<\/a>) have been pulling back recently, even in the face of rising key stock indices. This is both a telling and healthy development for a market that\u2019s been due for a meaningful retrenchment for a long time.<\/p>\nWhile a lot of the stock market\u2019s best-performing blue chips aren\u2019t too far off of their highs, there\u2019s definitely been some repositioning going on among institutional investors. This is a possible indicator that the stock market is now rotating out of its safest names that have been performing so well this year. It very much is an equity market dynamic worth following.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite stocks for long-term investors seeking dividends is Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL). This is not a burgeoning biotechnology stock, but that\u2019s not the point. If you can get a 10% total return, including dividends, in a year from a company<\/a> that isn\u2019t going to go broke in the next recession, well, that\u2019s meaningful for a stock market investor who is saving for or is already in retirement.<\/p>\n Colgate-Palmolive is five points off its all-time record high set in May of this year. The stock\u2019s current dividend yield is 2.4%, and its trailing price-to-earnings (P\/E) ratio is 24, which many may argue is pricey.<\/p>\n This is a company that has a long-term track record of solid business execution and not surprising Wall Street on the downside. It\u2019s the kind of company worth considering on major retrenchments.<\/p>\n Another favorite of mine for long-term stock market investors is PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP). It\u2019s a better business than The Coca-Cola Company (KO), even if you prefer the taste of \u201cCoke.\u201d<\/p>\n PepsiCo has been a much more consistent company in terms of its share price performance compared to Coca-Cola. It\u2019s also a more consistent earner, and while it\u2019s not the fastest mature enterprise in the landscape, its track record of wealth creation including dividends is undeniable. (See \u201cTwo Important Factors Now Working Against Stocks<\/a>.\u201d) It\u2019s a company that I think will keep on delivering on its promises. Soda and snacks continue to be a very good business.<\/p>\n Finally, one of my favorite benchmarks is still Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Like many blue chips, this pharma healthcare company has experienced long periods of nonperformance on the stock market. After a sustained period of wealth creation (and this doesn\u2019t account for dividends) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the company traded range-bound from 2005 until 2012. Then the stock accelerated tremendously to its current level.<\/p>\n Johnson & Johnson is eight points off its record high set in mid-July. It has been one of the stock market\u2019s best wealth creators in the large-cap space, and it remains, in my view, a company worth accumulating when it\u2019s down in price.<\/p>\n I find the price retrenchment among many of the stock market\u2019s leading blue chips to be a meaningful development. Combined with a reduction in quantitative easing, it\u2019s a signal that this stock market is about to experience a change in trend.<\/p>\n