Our top pick for 2014 was founded in 1910, and has been at the forefront of the constantly changing area of high technology ever since, says Russ Kaplan, editor of the Heartland Advisor.
Our pick is the well-known blue chip company International Business Machines (IBM). Technology has changed drastically since 1910, and IBM has always risen to a challenge, which, over the years, has left many high tech companies in the dust.
I've been following IBM since the early 1980s, and it's gone through periods when Wall Street analysts have been skeptical of its future. Today is one of those times, providing you with an excellent buying opportunity.
The skepticism comes from the supposed inability to react to such developments as the progression from typewriters to computers, and from mainframes to personal computers.
After that, IBM got out of the personal computer business, which had become a commodity with low prices, to a service company. It sold its computer manufacturing business to Lenovo (LNVGF).
Top 5 Shipping Companies For 2015: Chevron Corporation(CVX)
Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Finding bargain stocks
Even if you think the stock market today is overvalued, you can still find individual stocks that look much less expensive. Energy stocks in general carry relatively low multiples, reflecting concerns about future production and oil and gas prices. Yet even while some large oil companies have struggled, Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) has been more successful than most at finding ways to seek production growth through a combination of aggressive and opportunistic asset purchases along with new discoveries in key areas like Australia and the ultradeep zone of the Gulf of Mexico. Similarly, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) has identified the Canadian oil sands as well as the U.K. and Norway as being major contributors to production growth in the coming years. Both companies have P/E ratios in the 9 to 11 range.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Apple Inc.(AAPL)
Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
Tech companies have conquered our desks, our pockets, and even our laps, but they've had little success in the living room so far. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) has made some progress with Apple TV, but Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) TV was basically a flop, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) and Sony (NYSE: SNE ) have yet to turn gaming systems into multifunctional devices for all consumers.�
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
Apple (AAPL) has had a less impressive run in 2013. Shares of the tech behemoth are down around 6% since the calendar flipped over to January -- not horrific performance unless you consider the fact that the S&P 500 has gained more than 18% over that period. Ouch.
But Apple's bear run looks like it's nearing an end thanks to a multi-month breakout above the $460 level. Apple is breaking out of a double bottom pattern, a setup formed by two swing lows that take place at approximately the same price level. In AAPL's case, those swing lows bottomed out in late April and late June, and this week's breakout signals a buy.
Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of buyers and sellers. Rectangles, double bottoms and other price pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in this stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.
That resistance line at $14.50, for example, is a price at which there was an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers had been more eager to take recent gains and sell their shares than buyers were to buy. That's what made the move above it so significant -- the breakout indicated that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.
If you jump in here, I'd recommend putting a protective stop just below the 50-day moving average.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aaron Smith]
The stock price for Reynolds American (RAI), parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., fell about 3%. Other Big Tobacco stocks followed suit, with shares of Altria Group (MO) slipping about 2%. Philip Morris (PM) falling about 1% and Lorillard (LO) dropping nearly 3%.
- [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
There are definitely concerns for Phillip Morris, which include decreased market share in many areas and poor debt management. However, up until this point, Phillip Morris has done a good job rewarding its shareholders. While history usually repeats itself, that�� not necessarily an all-positive in this case. Phillip Morris didn�� hold up well in 2008/early 2009. If a similar environment were to present itself again, then Phillip Morris wouldn�� be a top option ��regardless of the impressive yield. In the meantime, Phillip Morris is an OUTPERFORM.
- [By GuruFocus]
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $80.78
The prices of Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $80.78, which is 16.5% off the 52-week high of $96.73. Philip Morris International Inc. is owned by 33 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 17 have added to their positions during the past quarter. Seven reduced their positions. Philip Morris International Inc. is a Virginia holding company first incorporated in 1987. Philip Morris International Inc. has a market cap of $129.42 billion; its shares were traded at around $80.78 with a P/E ratio of 15.20 and P/S ratio of 1.70. The dividend yield of Philip Morris International Inc. stocks is 4.40%. Philip Morris International Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 14.50% over the past five years.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)
McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Vigna]
Coca-Cola, McDonald's (MCD), DuPont, United Technologies (UTX) and Verizon (VZ) all reported earnings before the bell. Microsoft reports after the market closes. The Street was not impressed. Of the five that reported, only Verizon is higher in midday trading; the others are all in the red, with Coke down 3%. That’s on a day when the Dow itself is up about 70 points.
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Wednesday’s top DJIA laggard stocks were higher, up less than a point, headed into the early�1 p.m. close today.�McDonald’s�(MCD),�Disney�(DIS),�Chevron�(CVX)�Procter & Gamble�(PG) were up, though�ExxonMobil�(XOM) shares were flat headed into the close.�
- [By Shauna O'Brien]
Wells Fargo reported on Wednesday that it has cut its rating on fast food giant McDonald’s Corporation (MCD).
The ratings firm has downgraded MCD from “Outperform” to “Market Perform,” and has given the company a valuation range of $100 to $102. This range suggests up to a 6% increase from the stock’s current price of $96.38.
Analyst Jeff Farmer commented: “In 2013, MCD’s Global quarterly SSS comparisons eased dramatically as the year progressed, falling from +7.3% in Q1 2012 to +0.1% in Q4 2012. The increasingly favorable comparisons meant very little with both Global and U.S. two-year SSS trends materially decelerating in 2013 despite the more favorable comparisons. McDonald’s U.S. market share losses in three of the last four months through November have increasingly captured our attention. MCD largely attributed its softening 2012 U.S. SSS results to the combination of a lack of meaningful new food news and relatively late response to increasingly value-focused promotional efforts from its key competitors. MCD was more aggressive in 2013 with both new products and promoting value, but the company’s recent U.S. market share losses suggest that the long-delayed raising of the competitive bar by WEN and BKW is creating a tangible top- line headwind for McDonald’s, and one we expect to persist in 2014.”
McDonald’s shares were down 58 cents, or 0.60%, during pre-market trading Wednesday.
- [By Sophia Yan]
McDonald's (MCD) Japan had previously forecast sales of 250 billion yen ($2.5 billion) and net income of 6 billion yen ($59 million) for the year. The company said it isn't able to provide new targets as the scandal's full impact is still unfolding.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)
Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By DailyFinance Staff]
Stocks rallied again on Friday, completing one of the market's best weeks of the year. This rally is tied to growing signs that the pace of U.S. economic growth is finally picking up. The government reported a 4.1 percent jump in GDP over the summer. That was much stronger than expected, and substantially higher than the previous estimate. That came on top of strong reports this month on jobs, manufacturing and housing. At a news conference, President Obama said 2014 could be "a breakthrough year" for the U-S economy. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 42 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) gained 9 -- both ending at record highs yet again. The Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rallied 46 points. For the week, the Dow was up about 3 percent. Some retail stocks bounced higher as stores brace for the final weekend before Christmas. J.C. Penney (JCP) rose 4.5 percent, Urban Outfitters (URBN) gained 2 percent and American Eagle (AEO) gained 1.5 percent. And Target (TGT) edged higher, one day after acknowledging a massive security breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers to hackers. It was also a good day for online retailers. Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) both rose by about 2 percent and Overstock.com (OSTK) gained 3 percent. And how do we pay for all of those last minute gifts? Credit cards, of course. MasterCard (MA) and American Express (AXP) each gained 1.5 percent, and Visa (V) edged higher. One of the day's best gainers was Blackberry (BBRY). It shares soared 15 percent even though the smartphone maker posted a bigger loss than expected. But the company's new CEO forecast a profit by 2016 and announced a partnership with the Taiwanese phone maker Foxconn. A big green arrow for software maker Red Hat (RHT). It rallied 14 percent as earnings jumped, easily beating expectations. Textron (TXT) gained 10 percent. The Financial Times reports the company is on the verge of buying the a
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
That total would outpace the largest U.S. IPO to date, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), which raised $19.65 billion when it hit the market on March 13, 2008. General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) checks in at No. 3 on the list, having raised $18.14 billion in its 2010 IPO.
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
Here's how Apple gets the profit it needs by 2018 to reach a $1 trillion market cap:
The iPhone: Hand-wringing over the slowing growth in iPhone sales has been overblown. The law of large numbers dictates that Apple won't see 100% annual growth in iPhone sales ever again, but growth will remain steady. Research firm IDC projects that AAPL will sell 63.3 million more iPhones in 2018 than it does in 2014. Assuming profit margins stay about the same, such an increase will yield about $8.9 billion in additional annual net income by 2018. The iTunes Store/Software and Services: This previously quiet corner of Apple's empire is about to become a major contributor to the bottom line. Macquarie Capital projects that profits from this segment will explode from $10.95 billion this year to $19.12 billion in 2018, when it will account for a third of Apple's total profits. That's good for another $8.17 billion in annual net income. Wearable Tech: It's almost certain we'll see the rumored iWatch this fall - possibly as early as Sept. 9, when the iPhone 6 is expected to be unveiled. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has said that Apple could sell between 30 million and 60 million iWatches in its first year, with margins in excess of 40%. Assuming a sales price of $200 and 45 million iWatches sold, that would yield about $2 billion in profit in 2015. The wearable tech market is brand new and is expected to grow rapidly over the next several years, so by 2018 Apple should be wringing about $4 billion in annual net income from the iWatch and its successors. The Internet of Things: As a tech titan with an already powerful ecosystem, Apple is well-positioned to profit from the Internet of Things, a shorthand term for the idea that wireless networks and sensors will allow not just devices, but our cars, clothes, and home appliances to communicate. Wearable tech is a subset of this, but the Internet of Things is much, much bigger. Apple'
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)
Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:
- [By Kashafa Investment Research]
What works in P&G�� advantage is the fact that the company is already ahead of its peers in the emerging markets. As of 2012, P&G had sales of $33 billion in developing markets as compared to $24 billion for Unilever (UL) and $10 billion for Colgate (CL). This competitive edge over peers will sustain as P&G has product quality, innovation and has a significant marketing budget given its comfortable cash position.
- [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL )
Colgate's shares are trading well below the $62 high they hit just last month. The consumer goods company is heavily levered to international sales, with more than 80% of its business coming from outside the U.S. and more than half coming from emerging markets. - [By Dan Caplinger]
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) will release its quarterly report on Friday, and investors have watched the stock hit new all-time record highs in November before falling back in the past two months. Despite the optimism, Procter & Gamble earnings face pressure from international giant Unilever (NYSE: UL ) as well as domestic rivals Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB ) . The question facing investors is whether P&G can sustain its longtime competitive advantages against its rivals and bolster its growth.
- [By Bob Ciura]
Investors often flock to consumer staples companies because of their stable businesses that produce reliable profits, year-in and year-out. Even when the economy takes a nosedive, companies like The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG ) and Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL ) see their earnings stay afloat. After all, even when consumers are under economic distress, they still have to buy everyday household items like toothpaste, soap, and paper towels.
Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Neiger]
IBM (NYSE: IBM ) just launched a $1 billion initiative to build and test Flash technology for enterprise solutions. The company said that Flash is already an integral part of consumer products, and that the technology could help companies tackle Big Data challenges.
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