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The 12 Best Stocks to Buy for a Whole New Year of Returns in 2021

Editor’s note: “The 12 Best Stocks to Buy for a Whole New Year of Returns in 2021” was previously published Dec 4. It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.]
Back in July, I recommended seven of the best stocks to buy for 2021 and beyond. As a group, they’ve done very well over the past three months. For instance, Livongo Health was acquired by Teladoc Health (NYSE:TDOC) on Oct. 30 for $11.33 per share in cash and 0.592 times shares in Teladoc. 
But looking for a bit of a twist on my stock selection process, I’ve decided that this list will be based on the first letter of all 12 months. That means my stock pick for January will have a corporate name beginning with J, then an F for February and so forth.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

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All 12 will also have a market capitalization of $2 billion or more and positive free cash flow for the trailing 12 months. By this time next year, I’m confident that my picks, on the whole, won’t disappoint.
So, without further ado, here are my 12 best stocks for a brand new year:
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) 
Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) 
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) 
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) 
MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) 
Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI)
Jeld-Wen Holding (NYSE:JELD)
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
SVB Financial (NASDAQ:SIVB)
Otis Worldwide (NYSE:OTIS)
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE)
Dollar General (NYSE:DG)

Stocks to Buy: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Source: Alexander Tolstykh / Shutterstock.com

Johnson & Johnson represents the month of January on my list of best stocks to buy for 2021. Right now, it’s having a sideways kind of year in the markets. Its year-to-date (YTD) total return through Dec. 4 is just 2.6%. 
Based on a trailing 12-month free cash flow (FCF) of $18.3 billion and a current enterprise value (EV) of over $399 billion, JNJ’s FCF yield is a reasonable 4.7%. It might not be value territory — I consider anything above 8% to be cheap — but it’s pretty darn good. 
As InvestorPlace colleague Faisal Humayun recently stated, JNJ stock has an excellent product offering. 
“From a business perspective, the company provides diversified exposure to the segments of consumer health, pharmaceuticals and medical devices,” Humayun wrote. “The company’s pharmaceutical segment growth for Q3 2020 was impressive with most therapeutic areas delivering strong numbers.”
Not to mention, JNJ is still very much in the Covid-19 vaccine race. That suggests that 2021 could be a breakout year for this Dividend Aristocrat.  

Fidelity National Information Services (FIS)
Source: Maryna Pleshkun/Shutterstock.com

Next on my list of best stocks to buy is Fidelity National Information Services, representing the month of February. This payment processor is having an underwhelming year…