Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014

Blue chip stocks suffered their fifth loss in a row Thursday, after upbeat economic data continued to fuel worries that the Fed will soon start to withdraw it stimulus efforts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 68 points, or 0.4% to close at 15,821.5, while the S&P 500 retreated 7.78 points, or 0.4% to end at 1,785.03.

And the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.8 points, or 0.12% to close the day at 4,033.16.

Stocks lost their footing after initial claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected and the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy expanded faster than initially thought in the third quarter.

Data reports issued so far this week have included better-than-expected readings from the labor market and manufacturers, reigniting�concerns that the Federal Reserve could start reducing its $85-billion-a-month bond-purchase program as early as this month.

The Fed�� easy money policies have been credited with fueling the 2013 stock market rally. Investors worry the gains may not prove sustainable if the Fed eases back its bond buying prematurely.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Invest In 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 GuruFocus]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $83.79
  
  The prices of Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $83.79, 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. Nine reduced their positions.

• [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 Garrett Baldwin]

  As the world's second-largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is an ideal sin stock.

  And with numbers like these, it's also an ideal way to play global growth...

• [By Matthew Coffina]

  Philip Morris International (PM)

  Among our holdings, Philip Morris is arguably the most exposed to depreciating emerging market currencies, since it doesn�� have any US sales. Unfortunately, currency fluctuations are an unavoidable tradeoff for emerging markets��relatively stable cigarette volumes.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Alex Planes]

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) signed a three-year deal with Taiwan Semi in the past month to build the upcoming A8, A9, and A9X chips -- a deal that seemed to show Apple moving away from Samsung as its supplier-slash-frenemy of choice. But Apple is apparently still utilizing Samsung fabs to build A9 chips for future iterations of the iPhone, starting in 2015. Apple also made a deal with Samsung for future 14-nanometer chips, which means that Samsung has beaten out Taiwan Semi to the 14-nanometer transistor size. The Taiwanese company, despite being one of the very major few chip fabs left, couldn't get get a 14-nanometer production line up and running in time for Apple's anticipated launch.

• [By Chris Hill]

  In an appearance at the All Things Digital Conference, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) CEO Tim Cook said that his company has "some incredible plans" and that his staff "has several more game changers" in the pipeline. Is Cook smart to raise expectations? The Apple CEO also said that he's not a fan of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Glasses. Will Google Glasses catch on with consumers? In our lead story on Investor Beat, Motley Fool One's Jason Moser and Motley Fool Asset Management's Tim Hanson weigh in on the battle between Apple and Google.

• [By Dividend]

  Apple (AAPL) has a market capitalization of $442.61 billion. The company employs 72,800 people, generates revenue of $156.508 billion and has a net income of $41.733 billion. Apple�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $58.51 billion. The EBITDA margin is 37.39 percent (the operating margin is 35.30 percent and the net profit margin 26.67 percent).

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  On the other hand, Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM  ) and Samsung, the two remaining leading-edge foundries, are claiming that their 14/16-nanometer process technologies will be in high volume production during 2015. If we look at what has been announced so far in the way of products and timelines, we can get a sense of Intel's competitive position:

  Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM  ) has announced 20-nanometer Snapdragon parts for sampling in H2 2014 and in devices by H1 2015. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is reputed to be TSMC's major 20-nanometer customer for an iPhone 6 launch in the August-September timeframe. AMD (NYSE: AMD  ) has indicated that it will be moving to 20-nanometer during 2015 and then it will roll out designs based on 14/16 FinFET at some point during 2016 (likely mid- to late 2016 if the current product release cadence holds).

  Let's focus on Qualcomm
  Intel's fiercest direct competitor in the chip space is Qualcomm, so it's worth taking a look at what the product release�cadence for Qualcomm's products on new manufacturing technologies has been. (These are first device launches, so silicon is available a few months beforehand.)

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Ong Kang Wei]

  Another example of such a product is Colgate-Palmolive (CL)'s Colgate toothpaste. I do not think I have to elaborate much here. Toothpaste is needed in our everyday life, and we will definitely have to buy more toothpaste after we have finished using a packet of it, ensuring that Colgate gets more and more sales over the years.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Kevin Chen]

  In the video below, Fool contributor Kevin Chen reveals the one metric every investor should know. He also walks you through how you can use this metric to inform your buy or sell thesis for�IBM� (NYSE: IBM  ) ,�Baidu� (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) ,�Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) ,�Google� (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) , and�Nokia� (NYSE: NOK  ) .

• [By Keith Speights]

  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) probably ranks as the most significant publicly traded rival to Accenture in the health care field. While Big Blue doesn't report revenue for health care, the industry is an important area of focus for the company. In 2011, IBM counted more than 8,000 staff dedicated to health care. That number is likely a good bit higher now.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Key to 3.0's success was Microsoft's ability to convince many early PC-makers to pre-install the operating system on machines before they reached consumers. Although IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) and Compaq (now part of Hewlett-Packard) refused to commit to pre-installs -- IBM was still trying to push its 3-year-old OS/2 (an early Windows competitor), and Compaq's general policy opposed all pre-installs at the time -- Microsoft still managed to assemble a lineup of 30 computer makers, virtually none of which still make computers today, to include Windows 3.0 on machines out of the box. The $150 operating system sold 100,000 copies in its first two weeks on the market, and 4 million PCs were running Windows 3.0 by the end of its first year on the market.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Tyler Crowe]

  Even in the world of commodities, brand can mean a lot. Since oil is part of our everyday lives, companies like ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) have become two of the most recognized brands around the world. With natural gas looking to have its day in the sun, perhaps there are a few companies that could become household names as well.�

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Major oil companies declined with Exxon Mobil (XOM) down 0.6% to $93.68 and Chevron (CVX), off 0.6% to $122.02. �ConocoPhillips (COP) shares fell 0.37% to $72.66.

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Major oil companies also declined, with shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �down 1%. Shares of Chevron Corp. (CVX) �fell 0.6%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �were off 1.1%.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Travis Hoium]

  One of the best competitive advantages a company can create is built using what's called a network effect. The more users a company has, the more users it attracts, which attracts more users and the cycle continues. Visa (NYSE: V  ) has created one of the best network effects in the world with its massive payment processing system, building a lead over Mastercard (NYSE: MA  ) and American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) , who are the two other big players in the business.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Visa (V) gained 3.1% to $210.81 this week, making it the biggest winner in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Investors seem to have gotten over the risk posed to Visa by Russia.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks 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 Daniel Sparks]

  To add some context, it's useful to compare Apple with another megacap cash cow: McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) . Ironically, Apple and McDonalds share some common characteristics as stocks. Like Apple, McDonald's growth seems to be slowing. In the company's first quarter, global comparable sales decreased 1% from the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased just 1%. Furthermore, the stock's dividend yield just barely tops Apple's; both are close to 3%.�

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  A day after reporting disappointing comparable sales, McDonald's� (NYSE: MCD  ) shares jumped today, gaining 3.8% after its CFO said the fast-food chain could take greater steps to return cash to shareholders. CFO Pete Bensen said the company was looking at ways to optimize its capital structure, which could include selling stores in Asia to franchisees or cutting SG&A costs, and taking on more debt to fund greater share buybacks. Over the last three years, the company has returned to $16.5 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, not bad for a stock with a market cap just under $100 billion. At a time when the Golden Arches' operations are struggling, perhaps a change in the capital structure is the best way to make sure this cash cow keeps delivering for investors.