Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2014

Today I'm refereeing a boxing match between two of the biggest tech legends around: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ).

I'm calling it the Clash of the Tech Titans.

The prize? A big slug of profits for your investment portfolio...

Both of these fighters are big - we're talking market caps in the tens of billions - but these longtime blue chips are more black and blue right now... and are working through major corporate turnarounds. (In fact, both installed new chief executive officers less than three years ago.) They're both trying to raise revenue and income in order to send their stock prices higher.

Now, neither of these heavyweights is a bad investment - both are solid companies, in it for the long haul.

But one of these pugs just might be a stud - more of an inside fighter - that you should add to your portfolio now.

Today, if you agree with my decision and make that investment, you'll soon be watching your wealth grow fast...

10 Best Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2015: 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 GuruFocus]

  These are the top 5 holdings of Bill Gates
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  Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.B) - 82,039,804 shares, 48.5% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 5.74% Coca-Cola Co (KO) - 34,002,000 shares, 7.0% of the total portfolio. McDonald's Corporation (MCD) - 10,872,500 shares, 5.3% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.13% Caterpillar Inc (CAT) - 11,260,857 shares, 5.1% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 4.65% Canadian National Railway Co (CNI) - 17,126,874 shares, 4.9% of the total portfolio.
  �

  Added: McDonald's Corporation (MCD)

• [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 Steven Russolillo]

  McDonald's(MCD) Pulls Plug on Advise Website: “McDonald’s has pulled the plug on its ‘McResource’ website, which had become a target of a group seeking higher pay for hourly workers.”

• [By Patrick M. Sheridan]

  The fight for higher wages has been a recent theme across the retail and fast-food industries. McDonald's (MCD) workers and union organizers have staged strikes, even taking protests to the annual shareholder meeting last month.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 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 GuruFocus]

  The decade low yield of tobacco stocks can be clearly seen from our new interactive charts, which are embedded below. The chart shows the dividend yield of three tobacco stocks: Reynolds American (RAI), Philip Morris International (PM) and British American Tobacco (BTI).

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Philip Morris provides cigarette and tobacco products through established brands to an increasing consumer base around the world. The stock has done very well over the last few years and is now trading at all-time high prices. Earnings and revenue figures have been increasing and decreasing, in recent quarters, which has confused investors a bit. Relative to its strong peers and sector, Philip Morris has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Philip Morris to OUTPERFORM.

• [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.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 TaniaC]

  Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) is a consumer products company whose products are marketed in over 200 countries and territories throughout the world. It operates in two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care and Pet Nutrition.

• [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.

• [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. �

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 Anna Prior]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday’s session are International Business Machines Corp.(IBM), Morgan Stanley(MS) and PepsiCo Inc.(PEP)

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  IBM (NYSE: IBM) has purchased Aspera, a developer of technology that speeds up the transfer of extremely large files over long distances. Big Blue has been attempting to grow its storage software sales as hardware sales continue to be a drag on the company. Shares gained 0.86 percent, closing at $180.23.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  In addition to the new position in XOM stock, other large Berkshire Hathaway holdings include Wells Fargo (WFC), General Motors (GM), International Business Machines (IBM), Walmart (WMT), American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble (PG).

• [By Alex Planes]

  To understand the opportunity, it helps to take a look back at the trend TIBCO's riding to greatness: big data. The growth of big data was one of my top tech predictions for 2012, but the outcome of that call seemed to be a bit ahead of the curve. That's not necessarily because the demand isn't there -- indeed, TIBCO, Splunk (NASDAQ: SPLK  ) , and IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) all impressed the Street with the strength of their analytics operations. Rather, it's because big data is really "difficult data," in the sense that it's really not that easy to find qualified workers for the field. A glance at these companies' job postings makes that evident. TIBCO has nearly 80 openings in�its U.S. offices alone, and the smaller Splunk has about two dozen openings for big data-focused jobs. This might not be such a big problem for the more diversified IBM, but without the right people in place, TIBCO won't be able to take full advantage of its unique position.

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

  Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) been snapping up start-ups lately, although most of the time investors don't catch wind of it. Last month, Tim Cook said the company had already acquired about nine companies since October, compared to its prior rate of making a purchase every 60 to 75 days.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 Sara Murphy]

  For example, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) is embroiled in a take-no-prisoners battle with its shareholders over a $19 billion lawsuit in Ecuador for its pollution of that country's rainforests. Last year, in connection with the Ecuador debacle, more than a third of Chevron's shareholders voted to strip the CEO of his other role as chairman of the board. Investors also continue to propose resolutions requesting greater transparency from Chevron on its decision-making process with regard to entering countries with poor human rights records. These salvos from shareholders are becoming increasingly difficult for companies to ignore.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The mere 7% rise in price in the world's premier "oil stock" works out to less than half the gains seen elsewhere on the S&P 500. It's risen less than half as high as archrival Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) . Indeed, ExxonMobil stock has even underperformed BP (NYSE: BP  ) -- and last I heard, Exxon hasn't blown up any gulf oil platforms lately.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 Matt Brownell]

  Alamy The holiday shopping season is upon us, and that means you're probably about to spend a whole lot of money: According to the National Retail Federation, the average American will spend about $738 on gifts, decorations and other holiday purchases. And, actually, that's down 2 percent from last year, so perhaps we're all trying to be a hair more frugal. But another way to save on those holiday outlays can be to pick the right card when you get to the checkout counter. So which one should you use? If you're planning on carrying a balance into 2014, the answer is obvious: Whichever card has the lowest rate. But if you're planning on paying off your purchases in full and APRs aren't a concern, then you'll need to consider what ancillary benefits you can get by choosing one card over another. The Rewards Carousel The biggest consideration here is what sort of cash-back rewards you can get out of your card. Usually, you get only 1 percent back, which is a drop in the shopping bucket. But many cards have 5 percent bonus categories that rotate on a quarterly basis. And the good news is that credit-card issuers tend to pick bonus categories for the fourth quarter that line up nicely with where you're likely to spend money for the holidays. Take the Chase (JPM) Freedom card, for instance: This quarter, you can get 5 percent cash-back at Amazon.com (AMZN) and department stores including J.C. Penney (JCP), Sears (SHLD) and Nordstrom. The bad news is that some of the retailers with the lowest prices, including Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT) and warehouse-club stores, are excluded from the deal. Still, if you drop $300 between Macy's and Amazon this holiday season, you're getting back $15 just by using your Freedom card. If you intend to do most of your shopping online, your best bet might be the Discover (DFS) It card, which provides 5 percent cash-back on all online purchases through the end of the year. "As people do more holiday spending online, this is a great

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at Janney Capital upgraded Visa (NYSE: V) to Buy from Neutral with a price target raised to $240 from a previous $210. Shares gained 1.49 percent, closing at $204.00.