Analysts expect £78.5 billion in payouts£56.5 billion of buybacks this yearFTSE 100 up over 7% in 2024The latest AJ Bell Dividend Dashboard report shows FTSE 100 constituents are on course to pay £78.5 billion in ordinary dividends this year.That figure is almost flat on 2023 and well below the all-time high of £85.2 billion recorded in 2018, although analysts are penciling in a 6.5% increase

There is a lot to be said for being boring, especially when markets are volatile, and no firm quite captures that essence like FTSE 100 specialist distribution group Diploma (DPLM), whose shares have already sailed serenely to half a dozen all-time highs so far this year.Diploma operates a decentralised model with three divisions: Controls, which supplies components including specialised wiring, S

Smithson Investment Trust(SSON) £13.58Loss to date: 2.5%We urged readers to buy investment trust Smithson (SSON) at £13.93 on 25 January in the belief a share price rebound then underway had further to run as sentiment towards quality global small- and mid-cap companies improved.We reckoned potential interest rate cuts would provide a tailwind and highlighted the Fundsmith-managed trust's re-rat

The UK stock market has enjoyed quite the ride this year, with the FTSE 100 keeping pace with the S&P 500 in the US and hitting new record highs. It is certainly helping to raise the profile of what has been an unloved part of the investment universe ? however, investors often overlook one of the UK?s key attributes.You might think having a rich pool of takeover targets on cheap valuations is why

CFP SDL Free Spirit (BYYQC27) 160.7pAssets: £66.9 millionInvestors seeking to position portfolios for a re-rating of UK small and mid cap companies and a return to favour for the quality growth style should buy the CFP SDL Free Spirit (BYYQC27) fund. Admittedly, the sister vehicle to Sanford DeLand?s bigger CFP SDL Buffettology (BF0LDZ3) fund lags the IA UK All Companies sector over one and three

The ISA turns 25 on 6 April 2024 and few would argue that the tax-efficient savings wrapper has been anything other than a raging success story. Something like 22 million Brits have one, attracting somewhere over £700 billion of cash and stock market investments since 1999. In the coming 12-months, ISA investors will save an estimated £7 billion in tax.Hundreds of ISA millionaires are thoughts t

Diploma acquires US-based specialty fasteners businessExpected to be 8% accretive to earnings in first yearStructural growth market with high marginsValue-added specialist distribution business Diploma (DPLM) topped the FTSE gainers on Wednesday, gaining 12% to a record high after investors welcomed the proposed acquisition of Peerless Aerospace Fastener for $300 million (circa £236 million).Over

London?s FTSE 100 edged lower after the opening bell on Wednesday, as investors moved with trepidation as eyes turn to a US inflation reading due later in the week.The FTSE 100 index opened down 13.02 points, 0.2%, at 7,917.94. The FTSE 250 was down 23.35 points, 0.1%, at 19,754.29, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.27 of a point at 739.79.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 791.57, the Cboe UK 250 was

Trust returns to long-run outperformance trendBenchmark-beating 17.6% returnUK mid-caps cheaper than large-capsJean Roche-run investment trust Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund (SCP) returned to form in style over the year ended 30 September 2023, delivering a net asset value total return of 17.6% versus the disappointing 30% decline in the previous year.This beat the 13.6% total return from the benchmark

Better than expected full year profit growth up 24%2024 margin guidance increasedAnalysts increase profit estimatesSpecialist products supplier Diploma (DPLM) topped the FTSE 100 on Monday after beating full year market estimates and raising its 2024 outlook.Revenues for the year to 30 September were 19% ahead of the prior year representing organic growth of 8% while adjusted operating profit jump

Stock prices in London opened mixed on Monday morning, making few moves in anticipation of UK fiscal announcements and US central bank minutes.The FTSE 100 index opened down 25.58 points, 0.3%, at 7,478.67. The FTSE 250 was up 5.81 points at 18,573.68, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.39 of a point, 0.1%, at 719.44The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 746.20, the Cboe UK 250 was slightly lower at 16,070.

Quarterly review due in weeks Four likely winners and losersA further three stocks could drop outWe may only be half-way through the third quarter, but already it looks as though there will be quite a few changes to the benchmark FTSE 100 index when the topic comes up for review next month.Promotion to, and demotion from, the index can have a big effect on the share prices of the firms concerned a

Better than expected half-year revenue and profit growthRaised organic sales growth and margin guidanceAnalyst earnings upgradeSpecialist distributor Diploma (DPLM) delivered better than expected growth in first half revenue and adjusted operating profit and increased full year revenue and margin guidance sending the shares up 2% to £29.06.The shares are up 18% over the last year but remain aroun

- Distributor acquires TIE from private equity- Raises £236 million for further acquisitions- Confident of another year of strong growthShares in specialist distributor Diploma (DPLM) rose 4% to £27.42 as investors got their first chance to react to news, announced after yesterday's market close, of the acquisition of Tennessee Industrial Electronics (TIE) from private equity as well as a positi

Finally, everyone is talking about UK stocks. The spotlight is back on the country after the UK's FTSE 100 was one of the few major indices globally to record positive returns in 2022 and this year it has broken through the 8,000 level and hit a new record high. Hopefully, this will lead to the return of foreign investors who have shunned the UK since the Brexit vote in 2016.Investors can either b

Investors instinctively know sectors such as utilities, consumer staples and healthcare are defensive and have historically provided shelter during stock market turbulence. Yet the analysis usually focuses on sector performance alone.This article takes a different approach and seeks to identify stocks within the S&P 500 and FTSE 350 indices which have had the least number of down years over the pa

As 2022 draws to a close amid continuing market volatility Shares has canvassed leading fund managers to find out where they have been finding the best opportunities.Jamie Ross - Henderson Eurotrust (Hne)LOOKING OUT FOR BOMBED-OUT GROWTH STOCKSWe have spent the last 12 months trying to find opportunities within the growthier area of the market - our favoured part of the market and the part of the

Among the strategies that can richly reward those investors with a bit of patience is dividend growth investing.At its heart this involves putting money to work in companies that compound their earnings over time and convert a high proportion of profits into the cold, hard cash needed to fund consistent increases in the shareholder reward.One fan of this investing style is legendary US fund manage

Essentra (ESNT) 211pLoss to date: -32%Shares in industrial group Essentra (ESNT) jumped as much as 15% on 3 October on news the firm had agreed the sale of its filters business, completing its strategic repositioning.Unfortunately, that still leaves them almost a pound below our 310p entry point in November 2021 despite the fact the firm has done exactly what it said it would.WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE