Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014

With no compelling reason to be pessimistic today, Wall Street started the week off strong Monday, bidding stocks higher as Europe took further steps to stop the bleeding in Greece. Data today also show an abrupt jump in consumer borrowing, with Americans taking nearly $20 billion worth of debt in May, up sharply from the $10.9 billion more citizens borrowed in April. When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) tacked on 89 points, or 0.6%, to end at 15,225.�

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) led all blue chips higher Monday, adding 2.1%, as the health insurer enjoyed the benefits of a favorable article in Barron's, making the case for a 40% run-up in the stock over the next several years. The staggered rollout of Obamacare is cited as the major catalyst for the stock's potential in the bullish piece, which Wall Street clearly paid attention to. Shares even hit a 52-week high during trading today.

Big-box retailer Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT  ) also outperformed, jumping 2% Monday. It's easy to see how Wally World could benefit from today's intel on consumer credit; in a consumer-driven economy, a rapid increase in personal debt is one surefire way to increase spending, and the ubiquitous retailer is no stranger to that concept. The third-largest company in the Dow has recently gotten creative in terms of how to ramp up in-store purchases, and it now even offers its own credit card and banking solutions.�

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Dividend Growth Investor]

  International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. I like this global technology juggernaut, the ability to consistently repurchase shares, raise dividends for 16 years and its vision to earn $20/share by 2015. The company has increased dividends for 18 years in a row, and has managed to boost them by 18.80%/year over the past decade. Currently, the stock trades at 14 times earnings and yields 1.90%. Check my analysis of IBM.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Dan Burrows]

  Rival Colgate-Palmolive (CL) has different concerns, namely sluggishness in emerging markets where it enjoys commanding market share and derives more than half its revenue.

• [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. �

Best Insurance Stocks For 2014: 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 GuruFocus]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $85.37

  The prices of Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $85.37, which is 15.1% off the 52-week high of $96.73. Philip Morris International Inc. is owned by 31 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 14 have added to their positions during the past quarter. Ten reduced their positions.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Phillip Morris (PM) gained 2.8% to $86.56 after boosting its dividend by 10.6%.

  Restoration Hardware (RH) dropped 12% to $68.04 despite what many considered to be a solid earnings�report. Not Barron’s.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Wednesday, Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) announced that its board has approved a 10.6% increase to its quarterly dividend.

  PM has increased its dividend from 85 cents to 94 cents per share, or $3.76 annually.

  The dividend will be paid on October 11 to shareholders of record on September 26. The stock will go ex-dividend on September 24.

  Philip Morris shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Reuters]

  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Dow Jones news ticker in Times Square, New York City. NEW YORK -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs Group (GS), credit-card company Visa (V), and footwear Nike (NKE) will join the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) Dow Jones industrial average, the index managers said Tuesday, in the biggest shake-up for the 30-stock average in nearly a decade. The three companies will replace Bank of America (BAC), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Alcoa (AA), all lower-priced stocks that exert a lesser pull on the price-weighted index. The changes will be effective on Sept. 23, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement. The average, first established in 1896, includes 30 stocks, but very little money is indexed to its performance, unlike the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (^GSPC) or other indexes. In addition, because it is weighted by price, companies that are smaller in value with higher prices have more influence on the average. "Wow, those are big changes," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, N.Y. "The Dow is really an antiquated index. It is price-weighted, which makes no sense. But there are still are some people that pay attention to it, and some technicians, so it has an influence on some people." Google (GOOG) and other names were considered for inclusion but passed over because of high stock prices, David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the S&P Index Committee, told CNBC. The index manager said the changes were prompted by the low stock price of the three companies slated for removal and a desire to diversify the make-up of the index. Alcoa, in particular, has been seen as a candidate for elimination for some time, as the stock's market value of $8.5 billion is easily the lowest in the average. It is the first three-for-three change to the index since April 8, 2004, when American International Group (AIG), Pfizer (PFE) and Verizon (VZ) replaced AT&

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Regarded Solutions]

  The Team Alpha portfolio consists of Ford (F) Chevron (CVX) Apple (AAPL), McDonald's (MCD), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AT&T (T), General Electric (GE), BlackRock Kelso Capital (BKCC), KKR Financial (KFN), Procter & Gamble (PG), CSX Corp. (CSX), Realty Income (O), Coca-Cola (KO), Annaly Capital (NLY), Cisco (CSCO), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Newmont Mining (NEM), and Wells Fargo (WFC), and Intel (INTC).

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Recent deals with oil and gas majors like Chevron (CVX) have made ARII’s backlog for new rail cars jump to a whopping 6,300. That�� almost as many cars it shipped altogether in 2012. Those backlog orders and tank car leases have also helped ARII beat earnings estimates in the last few quarters.

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Major oil and gas companies were mixed, however. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �rose 0.3%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �rose 1.2%. Shares of Chevron Corp. (CVX) , however, were flat.

• [By Sara Murphy]

  Flash-forward to today, and there's a growing movement to divest from hydrocarbons in order to deal with climate change. Part of this movement is 350.org, an organization that urges college and university endowments to divest their shares of fossil fuel companies. The group takes particular aim at Transcanada (NYSE: TRP  ) because of the heavy carbon impact of the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as those companies most exposed to the "carbon bubble," including BP (NYSE: BP  ) , Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) , and Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) .

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Steve Symington]

  With beef prices on the rise, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) has officially decided to remove its Angus Third Pounder burgers from the menu by the middle of next month.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  )
  The fast-food king has generated almost 30% in annual dividend increases on average since 2003, with a yield of 3%. International growth has been the factor that led to its big payouts, as the Golden Arches can now be seen around the world in growing numbers. Recently, concerns about a slowdown in its international expansion have weighed on McDonald's shares, but with a payout ratio of just 55%, McDonald's has more room to push its dividend higher in the future even if earnings growth flags temporarily.

• [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.�

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies For 2014: 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 Tim Beyers]

  Advertisers hate the idea. At least two industry trade groups -- the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Association of National Advertisers -- strongly oppose the new setting, arguing that users of the browser will see more (and more irrelevant) ads as a result, Computerworld reports. Perhaps that's why�Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) ,�Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) �, and�Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) haven't taken similar steps with their own browsers?