This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and are just now coming in from 1Q21. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, according to Vickers.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning following earnings reports from major retailers and new housing market data. Walmart shares rose 2% after the company reported better-than-expected 1Q sales and earnings and raised its full-year guidance. Macy's shares also rose following an unexpected first-quarter profit. The Commerce Department said that U.S. housing starts fell 9.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.569 million units in April, down from 1.733 million in March and below the Reuters consensus forecast of 1.71 million. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $66 per barrel, while gold fell slightly to $1868 per ounce.

Often overlooked amid gyrations in the stock market is dividend income, which is an important element of total return. Between 1930 and 2012, dividend income accounted for 42% of total return of the S&P 500, according to Hartford Funds. And that's just the average. In some decades, dividends accounted for more than 50% of total returns and even 100% of returns. More recently, dividends have accounted for 15%-20% of returns. Still, in 2018, dividend payments softened the blow when most market indices declined as the Federal Reserve hiked rates. Not all dividends are created equal, though, and it is important to understand the difference between the two main categories: high-yield stocks and dividend-growth stocks.

Stocks fell again on Tuesday on continued inflation fears. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to more than 1.62%. On the employment front, the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that U.S. job openings rose by 597,000 to a record 8.1 million as of March 31. The data again highlighted the tight labor market for companies seeking to fill jobs in a recovering economy, and the potential impact of government stimulus programs in limiting the supply of workers. The Dow fell 1.3%, the S&P 0.9%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $65 per barrel, while gold rose $1 to $1838 per ounce.

The stock market was mixed last week as blue chips outperformed technology stocks. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 229 points, or 0.66%. The S&P 500 was up 0.74% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.88%. For the week, the DJIA rose 2.67%, the S&P rose 1.23%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.51%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 13.63%, the S&P 12.69%, and the Nasdaq 6.70%.

Stocks rose modestly on Wednesday morning, recovering some of their losses after Tuesday's selloff. On the employment front, payroll provider ADP said that U.S. private employers added 742,000 jobs in April, up from 565,000 in March. The reading was the strongest since last September but missed the Reuters consensus, which called for an increase of 800,000 jobs. The Institute for Supply Management said that its services index fell to 62.7 in April, down from 63.7 in March and below the consensus forecast of 64.3. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.5%. Crude oil traded near $66 per barrel, while gold rose $7 to $1783 per ounce.