Lockheed Martin built the shroud and support systems for the Hubble, while PerkinElmer and Ball both contributed optics.

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PerkinElmer (PKI) is hoping its fourth quarter earnings report on Thursday, January 31, 2013 will help continue the momentum its stock price has enjoyed.

FORBES: Earnings Preview: PerkinElmer

The Wall Street consensus is 65 cents per share, up 4.8% from a year ago when PerkinElmer reported earnings of 62 cents per share.

FORBES: Earnings Preview: PerkinElmer

Note the companies at the top, including Sealed Air ( SEE), Harrris Corp. ( HRS) and PerkinElmer ( PKI), where the dividend payout ratio is greater than 100%.

FORBES: Buy Stocks That Pay, And Can Keep Paying

The majority of analysts (72.7%) rate PerkinElmer as a buy.

FORBES: Earnings Preview: PerkinElmer

The decision to enter the DNA-decoding market came about because although PerkinElmer is big player in diagnostics and in the analysis of proteins, it had no real presence in DNA sequencing.

FORBES: PerkinElmer Enters DNA Sequencing Market

Rather than compete with makers of big DNA sequencing machines, PerkinElmer is creating a service business that will allow researchers to get human genetic data without owning their own DNA sequencers or high-powered supercomputers.

FORBES: PerkinElmer Enters DNA Sequencing Market