Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now

Sunshine turned to storm clouds today as stocks continued the slide that began last week.

AP

The S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 1,781.56 as Xerox (XRX) and E*Trade Financial (ETFC) fell. The�Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed for once: Blue chips fell 0.3% to 15,837.88 as Caterpillar’s (CAT) big gain helped mitigate the big drops in Visa (V) and Goldman Sachs (GS). Still, the Dow fell for a fifth consecutive day, its longest slide since Dec. 5, 2013.

Strategas Research Partners’ Chris Verrone and�Todd Sohn�are waiting for a bounce. They write:

From the January 15th high, the market is now down about -3% and roughly 48% of S&P 500 constituents are trading at a 20-day low (which is certainly getting closer to the 50-60% threshold that can often be an early, but buyable oversold signal). Notably, spot VIX is also trading through the third month contract which is often consistent with a tradable bottom. Our best guess is that stocks are within a % or two of finding support and bouncing, but suspect 1Q is likely to remain choppy (particularly as seasonality starts to fade into February).

Hot Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Albert Alfonso]

  Altria's anticipated EPS growth rate is important to determine the level of its next dividend increase. Altria aims to increase its dividend in line with EPS growth. Since its 2008 spin-off of Philip Morris International (PM), Altria's dividend increases have averaged a CAGR of 8.7%. Also during this timeframe, Altria has averaged a dividend payout ratio of 80%. Altria has a long history of dividend increases, and has increased its dividend 46 times in the past 44 years.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Russia's move could pose a threat to global cigarette producers such as Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) and British American Tobacco. Although both tobacco producers operate around the globe, a dramatic shift in curbing smoking from the world's third-largest tobacco consumer is bound to sting. In Philip Morris' case, according to Trefis, Russia accounted for approximately 6% of its total revenue last year, and the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region accounted for roughly one-quarter of sales.�

• [By Kelley Wright]

  Tobacco is a controversial business; but for Philip Morris International (PM), it's a market basically unaffected by economic slowdowns or rising commodity prices, which means it is stable and defensive; a combination we can live with. We also like the $3.76 dividend, outstanding growth, and a five-year average return on equity of over 160.

• [By Dan Dzombak]

  However, the tobacco industry has been a great hunting ground for investors. While no tobacco companies pay as high a dividend as Vector Group, long-term investors would do well to look at Altria in the U.S. or Phillip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) . Both were part of the original Phillip Morris conglomerate that split up around 2008 by spinning off Kraft and Phillip Morris International.� Both businesses are leaders in their respective markets -- Altria in the U.S. and Phillip Morris the world, excluding China and the U.S -- and have exceptionally high-returning businesses. This is in part due to both having one of the top brands in the world with Marlboro. For dividend investors, the key part is that both have long-term histories of steadily increasing their dividends. If I had to choose just one, while Altria has a higher yield than Phillip Morris (4.9% vs. 3.9%), I would go with Phillip Morris. The company has better growth prospects and a lower payout ratio, and the business is far more diversified in terms of legal risk, whereas Altria could be hurt by any laws or rulings that go against tobacco companies in the U.S.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy 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 WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  IBM provides key information technology products to companies participating in a multitude of industries around the world. The stock has done well in recent years and is now consolidating in a range extending back a year. A recent disappointing earnings release sent the stock to the bottom end of its recent range. Earnings, revenue figures, and institutional shareholders have sent mixed signals to investors. Relative to its peers and sector, IBM has underperformed year-to-date. WAIT AND SEE what IBM does this quarter.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  When the Dow falls more than 100 points, it's usually easy to find a few losers. This morning, I talked about why American Express, Du Pont, and Caterpillar were all lower;�click here to read about those stocks, or continue reading to learn about�JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) , AT&T (NYSE: T  ) , and IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) .

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , $12 billion
  For IBM, buybacks are a very conscious piece of an overall corporate strategy. A few years ago, the tech giant set a goal of reaching earnings per share of $20 by 2015. To reach that goal, IBM clearly needs to boost its net income. But it is also very deliberately buying back stock to reduce its share count, making it that much easier to reach its goal. In fact, over the years, the company has borrowed money from time to time to reduce share count, and with low borrowing costs now, that strategy could be instrumental in getting IBM to $20 per share in earnings in the next two years.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) has signed a definitive agreement to purchase privately held, virtual management provider CSL International, IBM announced today. The acquisition of Israel-based CSL International comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that IBM had finalized its purchase of cloud infrastructure company SoftLayer Technologies.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy 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 Jim Woods]

  Last week, traders weren�� very kind to the equity markets. They were particularly hard on financial stocks, as the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was down more than 4% in the week ended 4/11. Things were even worse for many individual financial-related stocks, including credit card payment processors MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V).

• [By Diane Alter]

  Athletic gear maker Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) steps into the place of Alcoa, a Dow component for 54 years. Payments company Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) will unseat HP, which joined the blue-chip benchmark in 1997. And Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) replaces BofA, which joined the index five years ago.

• [By Reuters]

  Steven Senne/AP BOSTON -- Companies that help Target process payments could face millions of dollars in fines and costs resulting from the unprecedented data breach that struck the retailer during the holiday shopping season. Investigators are still sorting through just how thieves compromised about 40 million payment cards and the information of about 70 million Target (TGT) customers. But people who have reviewed past data breaches believe Target's partners could face consumer lawsuits and fines that payment networks such as Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) often levy after cybersecurity incidents. Target's partners "have deep pockets and are intimately involved in certain aspects of how Target gets paid," said Jamie Pole, a cybersecurity consultant in Asheboro, N.C., who works for government agencies and the financial industry. Fines and settlement costs could reach into the millions of dollars for individual companies, he said, though much will depend on how the ultimate liability for the breach is determined. Boston attorney Cynthia Larose of Mintz Levin said Target would likely seek to add its partners as defendants to lawsuits already filed over the breach. "These class-action lawsuits start to bring everyone in at some point," she said. After its systems were penetrated by hackers in the mid-2000s, retailer TJX Cos. (TJX) agreed to pay up to $40.9 million to cover fraud costs in a settlement with Visa. Visa also issued penalties of $880,000 against Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) of Ohio, which processed transactions for TJX. Asked about the business relationships and possible costs, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation and pending suits. A Visa spokeswoman declined to comment. A MasterCard spokesman said the company couldn't discuss an ongoing investigation. Handling Target Transactions Several companies are involved in any purchase from a store such as Target. A bank issues the consumer's payment card

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy 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 Evan Niu, CFA]

  Investors are widely expecting Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) to get into the mobile payments game sooner or later, especially after CEO Tim Cook mentioned that the company now has 575 million active iTunes accounts with credit card information just a click or tap away. That makes its active user base nearly three times that of�Amazon.com, the largest e-commerce company in the world.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Apple provides technology products and services that continue to exceed expectations. With a number of innovative products being speculated for the company, look for these to possibly fuel a rise in the stock. The stock has been on a powerful move higher over the last several years, however, it has pulled-back and is still forming a base so it may need time before its next move. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenue figures have been on the rise, regardless, investors in the company have expected more. Relative to its peers and sector, Apple has been a weak year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Apple stock does this coming quarter.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Investors have nearly insatiable needs for growth. As Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) has delivered on this front over the past decade, shareholders are now worried about where the Mac maker heads next, as the growth rates they're accustomed to can't be expected to persist going forward.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy 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 Dan Caplinger]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) has fallen more than 1% on a downgrade from Janney Capital, which cut earnings expectations by half a percent and reduced same-store sales estimates for June and July. The fast-food giant has struggled to keep growth up despite headwinds in some international markets and increased competition within the U.S. market.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From a new online retailer blowing away expectations in its first quarter since going public to the world's largest burger chain eating crow over its chicken wings, here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest blunders in the business world. Comcast (CMCSK), Netflix (NFLX), and You -- Winners (Mostly) The week kicked off with Netflix shelling out some dough to be able to stream its content faster for Comcast's Xfinity broadband subscribers. It's a move that's long overdue, as Netflix's monthly reports on different access providers showed that Xfinity speeds on Netflix video streams were starting to decline in recent months. This is the kind of stuff that would result in consumers either ditching Comcast or unsubscribing from Netflix so this "peering" arrangement benefits both companies. Naturally it's also good news for Comcast subscribers. No one likes to see online videos stop to buffer or degrade in image quality. Everybody wins -- mostly. (The down side, though, can be viewed like this: Netflix, the 800 lb. gorilla of streaming video, just caved on the net neutrality fight and agreed to pay for bandwidth. It'll have to pass that cost on to subscribers eventually. And with Netflix out of the fight, expect any smaller company that sees its content being throttled to pay the Danegeld quickly, too.) Sony (SNE) -- Loser The Japanese consumer electronics giant has been struggling on several fronts lately, and now it's retreating on the retail front, too. Sony revealed plans to close 20 of its 31 Sony Store locations in this country. The outcome probably won't come as a surprise to anyone that has walked by one of its locations. However, Sony's been scaling back through layoffs, selling off its Vaio computer business, and other acts of surrender. Keeping the Sony Store locations would just be a pu

• [By Jessica Alling]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) is still hurting from the news that same-store sales dropped due to economic issues overseas. Down 0.59%, the fast-food chain represents the fourth-highest-weighted stock on the index. With a new strain of avian flu working its way through China, the Golden Arches said that usual customers may have been wary to leave the house, leading to lower sales in April. The 2.9% drop in same-store sales for the segment that includes Asia was nowhere near the drop that Yum! Brands�reported due to the avian flu outbreak -- a staggering 30% in April.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: 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 Travis Hoium]

  Big oil companies and refiners ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) will both report earnings in the next two days, and they'll likely face the same challenges as Phillips 66. The difference is that they have much more exposure to oil exploration, which is doing quite well on rising oil prices. This is one of the advantages of investing in big oil companies: They have exposure to both the good and the bad in the market.

• [By John Maxfield]

  In terms of individual stocks, shares of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) are headed higher in afternoon trading after the oil giant reported first-quarter earnings (link opens PDF) before the bell. While the oil giant saw its revenue and net income decline by 6.4% and 4.5%, respectively, its earnings per share managed to come in ahead of estimates. For the three months ended March 31, the company earned $3.31 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 per share. Like ExxonMobil, which reported yesterday, Chevron's top and bottom lines were the latest victims of falling global oil prices.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Dow movers
  Oil has been on quite the run over the past two days. Yesterday, light crude rose 3.25% and today it was up 1.72%. Not surprising, the Dow's big oil companies also moved higher. Shares of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) closed the day higher by 1.19%, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) moved higher by 1.57%. Today's moves followed yesterday's performance when Chevron increased by 1.47% and Exxon by 1.28%. While the two have recently been moving in line with each other, year to date Chevron is up more than 14% while Exxon has only increased by a little more than 4%. A number of analysts have stated that they believe Chevron will outperform Exxon over the next five years, and so far their predictions look good.�

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  First up is Chevron (CVX), the large-cap oil and gas supermajor. Chevron has spent most of the year in a well-defined uptrend, but lately shares have been tracking more sideways than upwards. Here's why that's actually a good thing for investors right now.

  Chevron is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish setup that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $127 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CVX bounces between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $127 level. When that happens, traders have a buy signal for shares.

  A lot of Chevron's fortunes are tied to commodities like oil and gas. As an integrated energy firm, CVX has its hands involved in every step in the process from pulling resources out of the ground to selling them at retail. But price action is providing traders with a shortcut for figuring out Chevron's next steps this fall. If you decide to buy the $127 breakout, I'd recommend keeping a protective stop right above the 200-day moving average.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Buy 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 Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Some traditional brand powerhouses have lost ground in the Top 100 since 2009. These include BMW, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL).

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Colgate-Palmolive
  Toothpaste and toothbrushes may not be exciting business, but it's consistent and consumers tend to develop habits they rarely break. Once they find a toothpaste brand they like, it could be years before they try another one. That leads to another incredibly consistent business for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , one that has paid back investors with a dividend since 1895. �

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is now $68 (versus a $59.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.