15 Investments That Make You Feel Good While You Make Money

John Csiszar
·12 min read
Obradovic / Getty Images
Obradovic / Getty Images

Publicly traded companies have an obligation to do whatever they can to generate profits for investors, but that doesn’t mean they are all solely focused on money. Some companies also make it a priority to operate both ethically and humanely. To help identify these socially responsible companies, Ethisphere International publishes an annual list of the world’s most ethical companies. What might be most surprising about the list is the performance of its member stocks.

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According to Ethisphere, the companies on the 2020 world’s most ethical companies list outperformed the large-cap sector by 13.5% over a five-year period on Wall Street, proving that sustainable investing can be profitable. While not all of the companies are always the best companies to invest in, when it comes to socially responsible investing, these are some of the companies you might want to consider.

Last updated: Mar. 23, 2021

3M building
3M building

3M (MMM)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $188.86

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $114.04 – $192.09

International conglomerate 3M views its Code of Conduct as not just a representation of its values but a competitive advantage as well. In the words of Michael Duran, 3M vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer, “For more than a century, we have built a foundation of trust and unwavering integrity in all that we do. Our success as a company depends on all of us to make the right decisions every day. This recognition is a collective effort by our 96,000 employees around the world. Our ethics and values are what make 3M a great place to work.”

Originally known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M now provides a number of well-known products, from Post-It notes to Scotch tape. Over its long history, the company’s stock has performed well. Over the past year, the stock is up about 52%.

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COLUMBIA, SC/USA - JUNE 4, 2018: Aflac Insurance corporate building and trademark logo.
COLUMBIA, SC/USA - JUNE 4, 2018: Aflac Insurance corporate building and trademark logo.

Aflac (AFL)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $51.16

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $25.13 – $52.78

Aflac is a major insurance company known for its ads featuring a talking duck. The company’s core mission, however, is anything but silly. Aflac takes claims-paying and ethical behavior seriously, often paying customer claims in a single day. The company believes that acting ethically and responsibly is an important part of its business and is the only insurance company to make Ethisphere’s list every year since 2007, including 2020. The stock currently trades at a P/E ratio of just 7.6 and pays a dividend yield just over 2.5%.

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Best Buy Black Friday at sunset
Best Buy Black Friday at sunset

Best Buy (BBY)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $118.19

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $49.01 – $124.89

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy has had a tumultuous history. The threat of competition from the likes of Amazon and other online retailers drove Best Buy’s stock below $12 in 2012 before it executed an amazing turnaround that pushed it to new highs in 2020. A focus on customers, relationships and competitive prices helped restore the company to the position of a thriving retailer. In 2020, Best Buy made Ethisphere’s list of Most Ethical Companies for the sixth time.

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Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste
Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $74.98

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $58.49 – $86.41

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer products brand. In addition to its namesake Colgate and Palmolive brands, the company is also the name behind Ajax, Irish Spring, Speed Stick and numerous other products.

In addition to operating by a Code of Ethics, Colgate-Palmolive has an Ethics Line that employees can contact to get advice or ask questions about potential violations of the company’s policies.It also operates a Sustainability website, outlining its progress in three key areas: people, performance and planet.

Analysts have an average rating of “hold” on Colgate-Palmolive’s stock with a consensus price target of $85.78.

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Kimberly-Clark Scotts toilet paper
Kimberly-Clark Scotts toilet paper

Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $130.32

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $110.66 – $160.16

Kimberly-Clark is another consumer products company and a rival of fellow list-mate Colgate-Palmolive. Like its competitor, Kimberly-Clark has a well-defined ethical approach to its business. In 2017 alone, the maker of Huggies, Kleenex, Scott and other leading brands conducted 238 social compliance audits across its supply chain, seeking to ensure it adheres to its founders’ core values of quality, service and fair dealing. Its board of directors includes 11 independent members and has 31% minority representation.

The stock has moved in fits and starts over the years but has been a huge winner for shareholders over the long run. Analysts have a consensus “buy” rating on the stock, with an average price target of $148.40.

Microsoft store in New York City
Microsoft store in New York City

Microsoft (MSFT)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $230.35

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $132.52 – $246.13

Microsoft needs little introduction as a company, considering it has a $1.7 trillion market value and is in a daily battle with Apple for the title of most valuable company in the world. The software giant is well known for the charitable work of the founder, former CEO and current board member Bill Gates. Microsoft also has placed on Ethisphere’s list of most ethical companies nine years in a row.

Beyond that, the company received countless other ethics awards, including a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which ranks LGBTQ equality, and a first-place ranking on Just Capital’s list of the 33 best companies for workers by industry.

PepsiCo
PepsiCo

PepsiCo (PEP)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $134.50

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $101.42 – $148.77

PepsiCo has a beautiful mountain-shaped stock chart over the long term and its shares currently lie near their all-time high. Analysts still see the stock continuing to climb, with a consensus price target of $151.57.

One reason for the company’s success is its willingness to diversify away from its core product, Pepsi-Cola. PepsiCo is now one of the world’s leading providers of food and beverages, with brands ranging from Quaker and Gatorade to Frito-Lay and Tropicana.

In terms of sustainability, diversity and engagement, PepsiCo has earned numerous awards, including the following:

  • 15 consecutive years on Ethisphere’s world’s most ethical companies list

  • Two 2019 awards for climate action

  • 100% on the Corporate Equality Index for its LGBT-focused Human Rights Campaign

  • Ranked 11th in OMNIKAL’s top 50 companies for inclusion

Analysts have a buy rating on PepsiCo stock, with an average price target of $151.57.

Salesforce office job growth
Salesforce office job growth

Salesforce.com (CRM)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $212.20

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $130.04 – $284.50

Salesforce is much loved on Wall Street, with analysts slapping an average “strong buy” rating on the stock and a $276.43 consensus price target. Although the stock has performed well, many investors still don’t really understand what Salesforce does. In response, the $195 billion company launched an ad campaign in 2019 explaining that it “brings customers and companies together” through customer relationship management solutions.

On the ethical front, Salesforce hired Paula Goldman as its first-ever chief ethical and humane use officer in 2019. The focus will be on the ethical use of technology to uphold the human rights of all individuals.

ST PAUL, MN/USA - SEPTEMBER 10, 2017: US Bank exterior and logo.
ST PAUL, MN/USA - SEPTEMBER 10, 2017: US Bank exterior and logo.

US Bancorp (USB)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $55.21

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $28.36 – $57.02

U.S. Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, is the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States, with more than $488 billion in assets. The stock sits near its all-time high and just about at the consensus target price of $56.70.

In 2021, U.S. Bank was named to the Ethisphere’s world’s most ethical list for the seventh year in a row. Chairman, President and CEO Andy Cecere takes the honor seriously, noting in a press release that “Our most important job is to earn and keep our customers’ trust, and we work hard at that every day.”

Since 2008, the bank has invested more than $36 billion in environmentally beneficial business opportunities. U.S. Bank also has committed to reducing its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2029 and 60% by 2044, using 2014 as a baseline.

Weyerhaeuser brand
Weyerhaeuser brand

Weyerhaeuser (WY)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $33.88

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $13.10 – $36.22

Investors might have trouble spelling Weyerhaeuser but they don’t have trouble buying it, as it currently trades near the top of its 52-week range. The company is one of the largest private landholders in the U.S. It has used that land for more than a century, primarily to produce wood products.

Weyerhaeuser has placed on the Ethisphere list 11 times. The company frequently updates and improves its code of ethics, which focuses on areas such as conflicts of interest, antitrust and competition laws, international business conduct, human rights, preventing harassment and discrimination, and health and safety.

Weyerhaeuser’s stock took a big hit along with the rest of the stock market in early 2020, but it’s recovered nicely and now rests near its 52-week high. The stock also pays a nice dividend of 1.97% as of Mar. 19, 2021.

Wyndham Club Resort in Fort Lauderdale Florida
Wyndham Club Resort in Fort Lauderdale Florida

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $68.94

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $21.68 – $71.46

In 2020, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts was tagged by Ethisphere for the second year in a row as one of the world’s most ethical companies. Some of the company’s primary objectives when it comes to acting responsibly include the following:

  • Creating an inclusive, diverse workplace

  • Implementing a values-driven culture of ethics and integrity

  • Developing new training programs and initiatives for team members regarding acceptable business conduct standards

  • Protecting human rights through training and awareness tools to identify human trafficking

The stock only has a short trading history, but analysts see good things ahead with an average “strong buy” rating and a consensus price target of $$69, but that target is just about where the stock trades as of Mar. 19, 2021.

Beyond Meat plant based burger patties
Beyond Meat plant based burger patties

Beyond Meat (BYND)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $139.39

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $54.15 – $221.00

Beyond Meat was one of the most noteworthy IPOs of 2019, skyrocketing from an initial offering price of $25 to a high of $72.75 before closing at $65.75, a gain of 163%. Initial shareholders have made more than five times their investments, though they might be weary of the extreme swings.

One reason for the excitement around the stock is that its main products are plant-based alternatives to meats. Supporters claim the company will revolutionize how people eat, with the shift toward a plant-based diet also helping to reduce ancillary problems such as climate change. In terms of ethics, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that plant-based burgers are good for the planet from an environmental standpoint. However, the verdict is still out on whether a meatless diet is good for your health.

Tesla (TSLA)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $654.87

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $82.10 – $900.40

Tesla has always been a controversial stock, thanks mostly to the antics of its outspoken CEO, Elon Musk. However, many say that a touch of craziness is as much a part of genius as anything — and Musk is certainly a visionary if nothing else. But Tesla stock in 2020 was particularly volatile, skyrocketing over 740% by year’s end.

In terms of trying to be an ethical company and advancing the human race, Tesla has made some extraordinary gestures. In 2014, for example, Musk announced that he was no longer protecting Tesla patents on electric vehicle technology, making them open-source and available to any interested parties.

In making this announcement, he said Tesla “was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”

It’s not often that you’ll find a company that will open up all its secrets to others in defense of the common good.

water treatment plant facility
water treatment plant facility

Ecolab (ECL)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $207.58

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $124.60 – $231.36

Ecolab has been on Ethisphere’s most ethical list since its inception in 2007, marking 14 consecutive years of receiving the honor. The company continues to receive this honor due to its focus on a wide range of ethical, humane and environmental issues. In addition to the Ethisphere awards, Ecolab has received various other awards in the following areas:

  • Employment for women

  • LGBT equality

  • Sustainability

  • Diversity

  • Innovation

  • Corporate citizenship

Ecolab keeps striving to improve in the future, setting sustainability goals of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and reducing them to net-zero by 2050.

The stock has been a huge winner, rising more than 80% over the past five years. It currently sits within 10% of its all-time high.

Spools of paper in the generic corrugated board plant.
Spools of paper in the generic corrugated board plant.

International Paper (IP)

  • Share price as of Mar. 19, 2021: $53.58

  • Price range, 52-week high/low: $26.38 – $56.98

International Paper is considered a cyclical stock. When the economy is booming, IP shares tend to trade up, and when the economy retracts, the stock price typically suffers. For now, analysts are lukewarm on the company, with an average “buy” rating but a price target of $53.78, or just about where the stock currently trades.

From an ethical standpoint, International Paper is a standout, having appeared on Ethisphere’s list for 15 straight years. As the world’s largest user of wood fiber, the company is motivated both economically and ethically to protect the forests. One of its goals by the end of 2020 is a 15% increase in the recovery of old corrugated containers, which will help divert usable fiber from landfills. The company also fosters an inclusive workforce by establishing mentoring boards for traditionally under-represented communities and holding inclusion forums twice per year.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 15 Investments That Make You Feel Good While You Make Money

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    U.S. President Joe Biden said he suggested to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a phone call on Friday that democratic countries should have an infrastructure plan to rival China's Belt and Road initiative. "I suggested we should have, essentially, a similar initiative, pulling from the democratic states, helping those communities around the world that, in fact, need help," Biden told reporters. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure scheme launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping involving development and investment initiatives that would stretch from East Asia to Europe.

  • Hilton Head teen ‘left to die in the middle of the road’ after Columbia hit-and-run

    Laer Hohmann, a 2020 Hilton Head Island High graduate, remains hospitalized with serious injuries.