IBM, Mastercard, Nike and Four Other Stocks Worth a Look Now

The following dividend-paying companies offer attractive returns on equity and are expected to have strong earnings per share growth over the next five years. Their stocks are also trading in the ballpark of their 52-week highs.

: The New York-based cosmetics company recently boosted its dividend by 40%. Strong sales in Africa, Europe and the Middle East drove better-than expected results in the most recent quarter. The company has a $22.7 billion market cap, a dividend yield of 0.9% and a long-term EPS growth forecast of 15.0%. The return on equity is 34.3%. The share price is more than 54% higher than a year ago and up more than 7% in the past week. The stock has outperformed competitors Avon

and Revlon

over the past six months.

: This Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker posted record third-quarter results due in part to double-digit unit growth in notebook PCs. And the board increased the buyback authorization by $10 billion. Intel has a $126.8 billion market cap and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 10.7% and the return on equity is 27.2%. This stock stumbled in mid-November but bounced back and is now more than 22% higher year to date. The stock has outperformed competitors such as Nvidia

and Texas Instruments

over the past six months.

: In the third quarter, IBM overtook Hewlett-Packard

as the world's largest seller of server computers. This S&P 500 component was founded in 1910 and has a market cap of $221.6 billion. Its dividend yield is 1.6% and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 10.8%. Its return on equity is 70.1% and the operating margin is much higher than the industry average. IBM's share price is up more than 30% year to date and just shy of the 52-week high. The stock has outperformed competitors Dell

and HP over the past six months.

: The company just announced a joint venture with Western Union

in the fast-growing market for reloadable prepaid cards. Mastercard is an S&P 500 component and has a market cap of $47.5 billion. Its return on equity is 42.5%. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 18.5% and the dividend yield is 0.2%. The share price is up more than 50% from a year ago and the stock reached a multiyear high yesterday. Mastercard has outperformed rivals American Express

and Visa

over the past six months.

: The toymaker recently announced that the COO would replace the retiring CEO at the end of the year, and also that it would acquire HIT Entertainment. This purveyor of Barbie and Hot Wheels has a dividend yield of 3.2% and a return on equity of 27.0%. Its market cap is $9.7 billion, and the P/E ratio is 13.9. The share price has risen more than 17% since the beginning of the year and reached a recent multiyear high. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitor Hasbro

, as well as the broader markets.

: Much of Nike's recent revenue growth has come from China, where it has more than 7,500 stores. The company said it will ramp up investment in China and hopes to double revenues there by 2015. The company has a market cap of $44.6 billion and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Its return on equity is 22.7% and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 11.1%. The share price is about 19% higher than six months ago and up about 5% in the past week. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed Crocs

and Dick's Sporting Goods

.

: This global purveyor of coffee beverages said last month it would raise prices in some markets. Its revenues have grown 8.5% over the past five years. An S&P 500 component, it has a $32.4 billion market cap and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 17.5% and the return on equity is 30.9%. Shares are trading about 39% higher than a year ago and about 2% lower than the recent 52-week high. The stock has outperformed competitors Dunkin Brands

and Green Mountain

over the past six months.