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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price certainly knows how to keep investors guessing. This buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer has had one of the most intense rollercoaster rides of any company on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past 18 months or so. To illustrate, let’s go back to February 2020, just prior to the onset of the global pandemic.

In February 2020, Afterpay was riding high at its (then) all-time high of around $38 per share. Following the February/March market crash, things turned very bad, very fast. The Afterpay share price dropped like a stone, falling as low as $8 by the market bottom on 23 March. That was a fall of more than 70%.

But Afterpay subsequently recovered even faster. By early May, it was back to its pre-COVID levels, and by August, it had doubled them. 

The revelation that e-commerce giant Tencent Holdings had taken a 5% stake in Afterpay was the real catalyst here. But it also helped that a predicted recession-induced wave of BNPL defaults had failed to materialise.

The company continued to post record growth numbers across the United States and United Kingdom markets, and by February 2021, Afterpay had reached an all-time high of $160.05 per share. Yep, in under a year, this company may have given some investors a return of more than 1,800%. Yikes.

But that was then, and this is now. There’s no point in crying over spilled shares. So where to for Afterpay shares in July 2021? The company’s shares closed at $104.43 apiece yesterday, a good 35% from their February all-time high.

Afterpay share price: buy now and get paid later?

One broker who is bullish on Afterpay shares from here is Morgan Stanley. As my Fool colleague James covered last week, Morgan Stanley currently rates Afterpay shares as ‘overweight’, with a 12-month share price target of $145 for the BNPL company. The broker is reportedly bullish on the company’s new Money by Afterpay app, which it believes has the potential to double its Australian revenues. 

It’s not just Morgan Stanley either. My fellow Fool colleague Brendon has also recently discussed broker Macquarie‘s ‘buy’ rating on Afterpay as well.

At Afterpay’s closing share price of $104.43 yesterday, the company has a market capitalisation of $30.25 billion. 

The post Could it be time to consider buying Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is gaining 3% today
• 3 excellent ASX growth shares analysts love
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re planning to add some growth shares to your portfolio in August, then you might want to look at the shares listed below.

All three of these ASX growth shares have been tipped as buys recently. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Hipages. It is a leading Australian-based online platform and software as a service (SaaS) provider. The Hipages platform connects consumers with trusted tradies to simplify home improvement. At the last count, there were over 34,000 tradies using the platform.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are very bullish on the company’s prospects. The broker believes it has a huge growth runway ahead as its ecosystem builds. Goldman has a buy rating and $4.10 price target on its shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another growth share to look at is Nitro Software. It is a software company that is aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world. Its key solution is the Nitro Productivity Suite, which provides integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools to customers. Demand has been growing rapidly in recent years and has continued in FY 2021. This is underpinning strong recurring revenue growth and should be boosted by a recent acquisition and integration with Salesforce.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company. Its analysts currently have an overweight rating and $3.70 price target on Nitro’s shares.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

A final growth share to look at is PointsBet. It is a sports wagering operator and iGaming provider with operations in the ANZ and US markets. PointsBet has been growing at a rapid rate thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile sports betting and innovative new products. Pleasingly, its growth is only really getting started. This is particularly in the case in the United States where regulation changes are creating huge opportunities.

Goldman Sachs is a big fan of PointsBet due to its massive opportunity in the United States. The broker is tipping the company to grow very strongly during the 2020s. As a result, Goldman currently has a buy rating and $17.20 price target on its shares.

The post 3 stellar ASX growth shares that could be buys in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Should you consider the Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) share price in July 2021 for the dividend yield?

Private health insurance giant Medibank has amassed a reputation as a heavyweight ASX dividend share ever since its 2014 transition from government-owned entity to public company.

In fact, the company had been steadily ramping up its dividend payments until the coronavirus crisis came to our shores last year. From 2015 until 2019, Medibank increased its dividend payouts every single year like clockwork.

But Medibank was indeed forced to trim its payouts last year. In 2019, the company paid out three dividends. These consisted of a single interim payment of 5.7 cents per share, and a final and special dividend of 7.4 cents and 2.5 cents per share respectively.

What kind of dividends are Medibank shares offering today?

In 2020, Medibank kept its March interim dividend at 5.7 cents. However, it was forced to trim its September final dividend down to 6.3 cents per share.

In 2021 so far, the company has paid an interim dividend of 5.8 cents per share. That’s a slight bump to its last two interim dividends.

These dividend payments give Medibank shares a trailling yield of 3.64% on current pricing. That rises to 5.21% grossed-up with the company’s usual full franking.

It’s not yet certain what Medibank’s final dividend will look like when it gets delivered to shareholders’ bank accounts in September this year. But investment bank Goldman Sachs has a prediction.

Goldman estimates Medibank will pay out 12.6 cents per share in dividends for FY21, which means it is anticipating a final dividend of 6.8 cents per share. That would give Medibank shares a forward yield of 3.81% on current pricing.

Further, in some good news for those income investors who appreciate a steadily rising dividend, Goldman is predicting Medibank will be able to resume its pattern of annual dividend increases. It anticipates the company’s dividend will reach 13.3 cents per share by FY2023.

It’s worth noting that Goldman currently has a ‘neutral’ rating on the Medibank share price. With a 12-month price target of $3.34 a share, that’s just 0.9% above the share price Medibank closed at yesterday.

At this share price, Medibank has a market capitalisation of $9.14 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25.34.

The post Should you buy Medibank (ASX: MPL) shares in July for the dividend? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price has gone up more than 50% over the last year.

Brickworks is a diversified property business. It has a number of building products such as bricks, roofing and precast. But the company also has investments including a 50% stake of a joint venture trust with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) and its holding of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares.

The business has experienced growth in all areas.

Soul Patts experiences share price growth

Brickworks owns a 39.4% stake in Soul Patts, which has a diversified portfolio of investments in listed and unlisted companies. Major investments include Brickworks, TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) and Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API).

In the first half of FY21, Brickworks’ shareholding of Soul Patts increased by $720 million. Over the last 12 months, the Soul Patts share price has risen by around 65%.

Soul Patts announced on 22 June 2021 that it plans to take over the listed investment company (LIC) Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT). The Soul Patts share price has increased by more than 9% since that announcement.

Property Trust

In June, Brickworks said that it’s expecting to report record property earnings in FY21, with property earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of between $240 million to $260 million, driven by the continued increase in the value of its property trust.

Management explained that it has seen strong demand and sustained growth in the value of its property trust over a number of years. The COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled this growth, by accelerating industry trends towards online shopping and increasing the importance of well-located distribution hubs and sophisticated supply chain solutions.

Brickworks said that as a result of sales and an increase in transaction pricing, and an independent valuation of its property trust assets, the joint venture saw a revaluation profit of around $100 million which will be recorded in the second half. This represented Brickworks’ half of the valuation gain.

Practical completion of the Amazon facility at Oakdale West is expected to occur in the first half of FY22. The even larger Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) distribution warehouse is under construction, with completion expected in early FY23.

Building products

When it released its trading update, Brickworks said that it was seeing sales momentum in both Australia and North America.

In local currency terms, it’s expecting a higher EBIT from both the North American and Australian building product divisions. In Australia, sales were particularly strong in Queensland and Western Australia, but the availability of some materials were causing delays.

In the US it was seeing a strong rebound in sales volumes to housing customers in May. A strengthening of commercial sales was anticipated as delayed and deferred projects re-commence.

Brickworks share price

Brickworks has seen all of its divisions benefit over the last year as they recover and grow.

Citi currently rates Brickworks as a buy with a price target of $27.20.

The post Why has the Brickworks share price rocketed up 50% in the last year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, COLESGROUP DEF SET, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re on the lookout for some dividend shares to add to your portfolio, then you may want to check out the ones listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares could be in the buy zone:

Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Aventus. It is a fully integrated owner, manager, and developer of large format retail centres in Australia.

At the last count, Aventus had a portfolio of 20 centres valued at $2.2 billion and spanning 536,000m2 in gross leasable area. It also has a diverse tenant base of 593 quality tenancies, with national retailers representing 87% of the total portfolio.

Demand for the company’s tenancies has remained strong during the pandemic, underpinning strong rental collections. This led to a 6.5% increase in funds from operations (FFO) to $55.9 million during the first half. In addition, a recent update reveals that the valuation of its properties has increased 12% since then.

One broker that is very positive on the company is Goldman Sachs. It currently has a buy rating and $3.27 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Aventus share price of $3.15.

Goldman is also forecasting yields of approximately 5.4%, 6.1%, and 6.6%, respectively, between FY 2021 and FY 2023.

Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is Integral Diagnostics. It is a medical imaging service provider that operates from a total of 72 radiology clinics across the country.

As with Aventus, Integral Diagnostics has been a solid performer in FY 2021. For example, during the first half of FY 2021, it reported a 29.5% increase in revenue to $170.7 million and a 61.1% jump in net profit after tax to $23.2 million.

Goldman Sachs is also positive on Integral Diagnostics and has a buy rating and $5.50 price target on its shares. The broker believes it is a well-run business in an attractive industry, with a relatively secure volume profile of mid/high single digit growth, and a clear path for further growth through brownfield and M&A activities.

Its analysts are forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 11 cents, 14 cents, and 15 cents between FY 2021 and FY 2023. Based on the latest Integral Diagnostics share price of $5.36, this will mean yields of 2%, 2.6%, and 2.8%, respectively.

The post 2 growing ASX dividend shares analysts rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AVENTUS RE UNIT and Integral Diagnostics Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are a group of ASX dividend shares that are currently offering very high dividend yields compared to the overall market.

These are businesses that generally have a high dividend payout ratio and a modest valuation. High valuations push down prospective yields.

In a world where interest rates are exceptionally low, high dividend yields may be attractive.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

Nick Scali is a relatively large furniture business, with a market capitalisation of around $1 billion according to the ASX.

It’s currently rated as a buy by Citi. The broker points out that Nick Scali has a strong balance sheet that can help shareholder returns.

Indeed, the ASX dividend share recently confirmed that it is in non-exclusive discussions with Greenlit Brands about a potential deal to buy the Plush Sofas business.

Nick Scali said it actively considers acquisition opportunities to produce growth from time to time, if it makes strategic sense. It has to have the potential for synergies, have a good financial impact and create long-term for Nick Scali shareholders. If the deal goes ahead, it’ll be funded by cash and debt, but there’s no guarantee the deal would go ahead.

Its total written sales orders for the group continue to remain elevated, with growth of 50% in the third quarter. In April 2021, there was growth of 242% year on year when there were widespread store closures in FY20.

In FY21, Nick Scali is expecting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be approximately $120 million. Net profit after tax is expected to be in the range of $78 million to $80 million, an increase of between 85% to 90%.

Citi is expecting the FY22 dividend from Nick Scali to be 48.60 cents, which would translate to a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.6%.

The ASX dividend share has growth plans including expanding the store network, launching in adjacent product categories and improving its online offering.

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

This is the largest pure play way to get exposure to industrial commercial property, in the form of a real estate investment trust (REIT).

Those properties are located in important metropolitan locations, with quality and diverse tenants.

The fund manager tries to provide capital growth and income for investors.

It recently spent another $86.1 million on three properties, being two distribution centres and a manufacturing property. Those assets come with an initial yield of 5% with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.8 years.

Prior to those acquisitions, in its revaluation update, the ASX dividend share said the pro forma net tangible asset (NTA) was $3.85 per unit. The portfolio had an occupancy rate of almost 99% with a WALE of close to 10 years.

Fund manager Jesse Curtis recently said:

Australia’s industrial real estate market remains a highly sought-after sector attracting investment demand from domestic and international capital. Within the past six months the market has seen elevated transaction volumes with major asset and portfolio sales setting new benchmarks…Strong sector tailwinds continue to provide long-term benefits to industrial real estate with e-commerce and onshoring increasing demand for quality industrial accommodation.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). The FY22 distribution is expected by the broker to be 18.3 cents per unit, which contributes to a forward distribution yield of 4.85%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with BIG dividend yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week on a subdued note. The benchmark index finished the day slightly lower at 7,394.3 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 22 points or 0.30% higher at the open. This follows a positive night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.2%, the S&P 500 climb 0.25%, and the Nasdaq edge slightly higher. The S&P 500 hit a new record high overnight.

Oil prices edge higher

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a positive day after oil prices edged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.1% to US$72.13 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.85% to US$74.72 a barrel. Traders were buying oil on the belief that the market is undersupplied.

Oil Search Q2 update

The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price will be one to watch when it releases its second quarter update this morning. Shareholders will be hoping that the energy producer’s performance has improved since the first quarter when it recorded a 2.7% quarter on quarter decline in net production to 6.9mmboe. Investors may also want to look out for any comments on the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) merger proposal.

Gold price softens

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.25% to US$1,797.6 an ounce. The price of the precious metal fell despite weakness in the US dollar. Traders appear nervous ahead of another US Federal Reserve meeting.

Westpac asset sale update

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be on watch today. This follows the after market release of an announcement on Monday relating to its sale of its Pacific businesses. That update reveals that Papua New Guinea’s Independent Consumer and Competition Commission intends to deny authorisation to Kina Bank for the proposed acquisition of Westpac’s stake in Westpac Bank PNG.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Conico Ltd (ASX: CNJ) share price is one of the best ASX performers today. This comes after the mineral exploration company announced preliminary results from its first-ever drill-hole at the Ryberg Project.

Conico shares were up 67.5% at the close, trading at 5.7 cents, after earlier exploding 97.06% higher to reach a record-breaking high of 7 cents.

Quick take on the Ryberg Project

Located on the east coast of Greenland, the Ryberg Project is 100% owned and operated by Conico’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Longland. The latter holds licences that cover an area of 4,500 square kilometres.

According to the company, the Ryberg Project is considered an under-explored mineral province with a “significant amount of magmatism” within the Kangerlussuaq Basin. Geochemical analysis has identified samples rich in copper, palladium, gold, nickel, cobalt and platinum.

What did Conico announce?

The company reported that significant sulphide mineralisation had been detected from drill-hole MIDD001.

According to the release, Longland encountered a sequence of metamorphic rocks that contains zones of strong sulphide mineralisation. This is between a depth of 117 metres to 124 metres over a 4.5-metre-wide drill hole.

While the results are exciting, it’s worth noting that the samples have not been sent for laboratory analysis yet. Conico advised that the preliminary findings came from an observation by a qualified and experienced geologist.

A second drill-hole (MIDD002) is nearing completion, and rigs have been established on holes MIDD003 and MIDD004. All holes target the Miki Prospect, but the company has scheduled one rig to mobilise to the Sortekap Prospect later in the season.

In addition to the drilling, Longland is conducting a regional 200m line-spaced heliborne magnetic survey.

Longland CEO Thomas Abraham-James thanked Conico shareholders and directors for “putting their faith in Longland Resources” when they acquired the company last year.

We are a greenfields exploration company in a location far from Australia. They saw what I did in the potential of our Greenland assets. I take tremendous satisfaction in the first ever drill-hole to occur at Ryberg encountering significant sulphide mineralisation.

About the Conico share price

In the past 12 months, Conico shares have lifted more than 570%, with year-to-date up 110%. The company’s share price reached a multi-year high of 7 cents today.

Conico commands a market capitalisation of roughly $55.9 million, with approximately 916 million shares on issue.

The post Up 70%, the Conico (ASX:CNJ) share price is breaking records today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday.

This follows the release of a disappointing update on a proposed asset sale after the market close.

What did Westpac announce?

Late last year Westpac announced an agreement with Kina Securities Ltd (ASX: KSL) for the sale of the bank’s Pacific businesses for up to $420 million. These comprise Westpac Fiji and Westpac’s 89.91% stake in Westpac Bank PNG.

Westpac decided to offload the businesses as part of its strategic decision to focus on consumer, business, and institutional banking in Australia and New Zealand.

Westpac’s Group Chief Executive of Specialist Businesses & Group Strategy, Jason Yetton, explained: “We are taking another step in becoming a simpler, stronger bank while ensuring a high standard of banking services is maintained for our Pacific customers, as well as providing new opportunities for our people.”

“Choosing the right purchaser for our businesses is important to us, our people and the communities we serve. We are pleased our Pacific businesses are being acquired by Kina Bank. Kina is a strong brand in the region and is well positioned with deep local knowledge to continue to help our consumer and business customers succeed,” Mr Yetton added.

However, things haven’t gone quite to plan, unfortunately.

What’s the latest?

This afternoon Westpac revealed that the sale still requires regulatory approvals in both Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

One of those approvals is from Papua New Guinea’s Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC). However, the ICCC has just released its draft determination indicating that it proposes to deny authorisation to Kina Bank for the proposed acquisition of Westpac’s stake in Westpac Bank PNG.

What now?

Westpac and Kina are currently reviewing the draft determination and intend to make further submissions to the ICCC before its final determination is issued in September.

Australia’s oldest bank believes the sale is the interests of Westpac’s customers and staff and the people of Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

It notes that Kina is committed to financial inclusion and innovation, plans to retain all local staff and branches, and intends to maintain two brands in PNG.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after asset sale blow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Just like that… ASX back to record highs
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price up despite potential $254 million loss
• Should you buy Westpac (ASX:WBC) shares in July for the dividend yield?
• ANZ’s (ASX:ANZ) $1.5bn buyback puts other ASX 200 banks under capital return spotlight

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you wanting to buy some blue chip ASX 200 shares for your portfolio? Then you might want to check out the ones listed below.

These quality companies could have the potential to grow at a solid over the next decade. As a result of this, they have been tipped as blue chips to buy. Here’s what you need to know:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Coles. It is of course one of Australia’s big two supermarket chains with over 800 locations across the country. It also has over 900 liquor retail stores, over 700 Coles express stores, and the flybuys loyalty program.

From its store network, the company processes more than 21 million customer transactions each week, providing consumers with products from thousands of farmers and suppliers.

Due to this strong market position and its defensive qualities, a number of brokers have tipped Coles as a blue chip to buy. One of those is Goldman Sachs, which currently has a buy rating and $19.40 price target on its shares.

Goldman believes the supermarket giant is well-positioned for growth in the coming years and is forecasting solid increases in earnings and dividends. In respect to the latter, the broker has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of 62 cents, 67 cents, and then 73 cents over the next three financial years. Based on the latest Coles share price of $17.66, this will mean yields of 3.5%, 3.8%, and 4.2%, respectively.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share for investors to look at is ResMed. It is a medical device company with a focus on sleep disorders.

Its cloud-connected medical devices are transforming care for people with sleep apnea, COPD, and other chronic diseases. In addition, its comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support the professionals and caregivers who are helping people stay healthy in the home or care setting of their choice.

And this certainly is a lot of people. At the last count, ResMed’s rapidly growing digital health ecosystem reached over 14 million cloud connectable medical devices. This helped increase the number of lives improved through its products to 121 million in 2020.

But it isn’t stopping there. The company still sees a significant runway for growth and is aiming to improve 250 million lives in out-of-hospital healthcare in 2025.

Analysts at Credit Suisse are positive on the company. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $37.00 price target on its shares.

The post 2 excellent ASX 200 blue chip shares named as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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