On Mother’s Day don’t forget mom likes money too

By Dian Vujovich

Sure flowers and cards and orchids from Costco are really nice thoughts for mom on Mother’s Day. And yes, I know there are plenty of mom’s who play the you-don’t-have-to-get-me-anything card on that day, but I don’t believe that. If I were a mom, I’d expect more. I also wouldn’t turn up my nose at a money gift on this motherly Sunday. Or, to a reasonable facsimile of it …like maybe some good stock ideas.

To be clear, I am not recommending any of the stocks mentioned in this blog as buys. The point of this piece is merely to get you to think outside of the box when getting a gift for your mom for this day or any other one. Got that?

If you need some convincing about the value of a gift like this, all you’ve got to do is look at the numbers to learn that females outnumber males during most of the decades of their lives. Additionally, there have been tens of thousands of articles written about how women outlive men. As well as those stating that females either don’t know much about investing and/or invest differently than men.

So money and mom go hand-in-hand. On that note, here are a few Mother’s Day-related stock ideas. Their names, once researched to see if they could be an appropriate fit, can easily be tucked into that Mother’s Day card you just picked up at Target.

Here’s goes:

•I’ve already mentioned Costco and Target. Costco (COST) closed Friday, April 8, 2015 at $145.88, its 52-week high and low ranged from roughly $113 to $156. COST also pays a dividend of 1.10 percent.

Target, or Tarje’ to many, pays a better dividend, 2.60 percent based on its closing price of $80.74. Over the past 52 weeks TGTs share price has traded between $55 and $84 per share.

• What Palm Beach mom doesn’t love luxury? Perhaps the perfect way to make her smile and send a sincere message of appreciative love is buying her shares of Tiffany & Co. (TIF).

TIF closed Friday at $88.65, pays a dividend of 1.70 percent and during the past 52 weeks has traded between 82 and 110 bucks a share.

• If she loves flowers, all year, all long, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS) could be worth looking at. In addition to fresh flowers and plants, the company sells all sorts of goodies such as gift baskets, candles, balloons, stuffed animals, etc.

FLWS does not pay a dividend, closed on May 8th at $10.01 a share and ranged in price from $4.96 to $13.46 over the past 52 weeks.

•I know a number of women who love dining at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The stock’s symbol is RUTH, the company’s name is Ruths Hospitality Group, Inc., and the stock closed at $14.69 last week. It pays a dividend of 1.60 percent and its per share price has ranged between 10 and 16 dollars a share during the past year.

• Or maybe mom simply likes to travel. If that’s the case she might want to look at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Symbol: HOT. (Gotta love that!) A couple brands under that umbrella include The Luxury Collection and St. Regis.

HOT closed at $86.61 last week, pays a dividend of 1.70 percent. Its per share price has ranged between $68 and $87 over the past 52 weeks.

And there you have it. Last minute ideas for mom and most of them pay a dividend way more than what her money is currently earning in a money market account at her favorite bank.

Happy Mother’s Day