Best Blue Chip Stocks To Buy Right Now

Back on April 2nd, esteemed Seeking Alpha contributor Hawkinvest penned a piece wherein he posited there were five reasons why General Electric (GE) shares could have potentially significant downside risks from current levels. His reasons are as follows: 1) GE's relative underperformance over the past month or so 2) GE's decline during the financial crisis means it is not worthy of the "blue chip" moniker it covets 3) GE's dependence upon a booming global economy 4) GE's debt load 5) GE's payout ratio. Now, I won't go through his points in depth as you can read them for yourself but I've captured the essence of his arguments above. I intend to use this article to express my variant view on the author's theses and to counter them with bullish arguments.

Before I begin, I'd like to mention that I have a tremendous amount of respect for Hawkinvest and his work; I don't intend to be harsh or overly critical here, I just wanted to bring a differing viewpoint to the discussion.

Best Blue Chip Stocks 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 Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: KMB is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: The company's peer group includes: Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) with a 3.1% yield, Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) with a 2.3% yield, and Clorox Corporation (CLX) with a 3.4% yield.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Buy 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 Rupert Hargreaves]

  After a�record�first half, tobacco stocks are now starting to pull back as the high-yield sector of the market is sold-off. During the first six and a half months of the year, Altria (NYSE: MO  ) matched the S&P 500 with gains of 17.5%, while�Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI  ) �climbed 24% and Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) �advanced�7.3%, all excluding dividends (the S&P 500 gained 18% over the same period). However, since the recent sell-off began, all three companies have wiped out most of their gains so far this year.��

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The name change reflected the company's wish to have consumers and investors see beyond its tobacco business, which at the time was plagued by more substantial legal battles with billions in potential liability hanging in the balance. Shareholders approved the name change in 2002. The irony, of course, is that Altria has since spun off both Kraft and its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) global tobacco divisions, leaving Altria holding the old core Philip Morris USA division.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Global tobacco giant�Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) announced this morning its second-quarter dividend of $0.85 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout 10% from $0.77 per share.

Best Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2015: 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 Dan Caplinger]

  The key to the Dow's drop today is IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , which fell 7.5% after releasing a disappointing first-quarter earnings report. The company suffered from delays in completing major sales of mainframe computers and software packages, which contributed to a 5% decline in overall revenue. Although the company kept its full-year earnings guidance stable, analysts quickly swarmed in to downgrade the stock.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  The main culprits in the Dow's decline were IBM (IBM) down 6.4%, Goldman Sachs (GS), down 2.6%, and United Health Group (UNH) down 4.97%.

  I think we saw two themes re-emerge, and one new theme emerge yesterday, that are likely to be major drivers of the US market for the next couple of weeks, as we move through the meat of earnings season.

• [By GuruFocus]

  International Business Machines Corp (IBM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $172.80

  The prices of International Business Machines Corp (IBM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $172.80, which is 20.1% off the 52-week high of $215.90. International Business Machines Corp is owned by 34 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 15 have added to their positions during the past quarter. Thirteen reduced their positions.

• [By Tom Taulli]

  IT Spending: Last week,�IBM�(IBM) announced a terrible earnings report. It�missed expectations�on revenue by a stunning $1 billion.�But IBM�� weakness was more than just about poor execution. With the overall uncertainty in global economies, we’re seeing a general resistance to make to make commitments for IT purchases. And the recent budget showdown in DC was also no help. IBM also felt pressure in China. While the company blamed this on the government�� reform efforts, there may also be indications of a harder line on technology imports. These combined headwinds will all affect MSFT stock as well.

Best Blue Chip Stocks 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 Robert Rapier]

  Seadrill Partners is presently the only offshore drilling services company structured as a partnership, although international offshore drilling contractor�Ocean Rig�(Nasdaq: ORIG) has plans to drop down assets into an MLP this year. The Seadrill Partners IPO involved a drop down of four drilling rigs from the parent — two semi-submersibles (the West Aquarius and the West Capricorn), one tender rig (the West Vencedor), and one ultra-deepwater drillship (the West Capella). These drilling rigs are under long-term contracts with major oil companies such as�Chevron�(NYSE: CVX),�Total�(NYSE:TOT),�BP�(NYSE: BP) and�ExxonMobil�(NYSE: XOM).

• [By M. Joy, Hayes]

  Shareholders, keep out
  A few years ago, when the SEC considered introducing a new regulation requiring public companies to include some shareholder-nominated candidates for the board of directors on their proxy statements, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) objected.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) opened flat this morning and peaked in mid-afternoon before sliding gack a little. Chevron has been the favorite big oil stock for about two years now and even though the stock is trading near its yearly high, sparse demand for equities today must have looked like a buying opportunity. Shares for this Dow 30 stock closed up 0.87% at $123.36 in a 52-week range of $105.75 to $127.83.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  In the company's latest earnings release domestic and international struggles surfaced in the form of year-over-year revenue decreases in its two main segments: upstream and downstream operations. Luckily, and ironically, for Exxon, its chemical division bailed it out. Did peers like Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) and BP (NYSE: BP  ) suffer the same fate? Check out the video below to find out.

Best Blue Chip Stocks 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]

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) investors have been fretting lately over where future iPhone growth will come from, as data continues to pile up that the high-end segment of subsidized, developed markets approaches maturity. Before even including the very distinct possibility of an affordable iPhone, Apple still has a powerful weapon in grabbing share from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android: customer loyalty.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  That didn't take long. Just months after finally getting the iPhone in its lineup, Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) device is already surging at T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS  ) .

• [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.)

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Even though Apple's (AAPL) chart is a little more complicated than the ones of GE and SPY, the trading implications aren't: Now looks like a good time to be a buyer of the world's biggest tech company, believe it or not. Even though Apple can't get much love from investors, I'll go ahead and channel the great technician Walter Deemer by saying, "When the right time comes to buy, you won't want to."

  In the short-term, Apple is forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a price setup that indicates exhaustion among sellers. After the plunge shares have taken in the last year, sellers at least have reason to be exhausted. The inverse head and shoulders is formed by two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (shoulders) that are separated by a lower low (the head). The buy signal comes on a move through the neckline, which is currently right around $495.

  XOM's price pattern is the bearish opposite of the inverse head and shoulders that points to upside in Apple. Like AAPL, the neckline in XOM is sloped, but it's close enough to $85 right now to justify unloading shares (or shorting) if XOM still can't catch a bid down there. Yes, this stock has gotten shellacked in the last couple of months, but it could be due for even lower levels in the fourth quarter.

  Lest you think that the head and shoulders is too well known to be worth trading, the research suggests otherwise: a recent academic study conducted by the Federal Reserve Board of New York found that the results of 10,000 computer-simulated head-and-shoulders trades resulted in "profits [that] would have been both statistically and economically significant." That's good reason to keep an eye on both Apple and Exxon in the days ahead.

Best Blue Chip Stocks 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 Teresa Rivas]

  It�� been a good week for Visa�(V) and�MasterCard�(MA)��wo days in and they��e enjoyed two rounds of upgrades.

  Today, the bullishness comes from Janney Montgomery Scott�� Thomas McCrohan and Leonard DeProspo, who boosted their ratings on both names to Buy.

  For Visa, the upgrade came with a target price increase from $210 to $240 and they write that the recent selloff in the name provides an attractive entry point ��o own one of the better business models in payments.��They count the company�� powerful network, worldwide brand, and its role in influencing payment standards among its core strengths, and note that the increase of mobile payments has also served to increase the number of places where Visa is accepted.

  They write that strong margin expansion in the past year and a half means that mid-to-high teens earnings per share growth is possible even if margins contract this quarter and next, as the company�� guidance suggests.

  More thoughts below:

  Changes to FANF fees beginning April 1, 2015. Last week, Visa modified its FANF pricing (Fixed Acquirer Network Fee) to include a 15 bps volume-based charge for sub-merchants of payment aggregators. Previously, payment aggregators only paid one lump sum payment of $40,000 per month, which created a cost advantage for aggregators versus traditional acquirers and ISOs that were required to pay a separate FANF fee per merchant location. The new FANF pricing is 15 bps of monthly volume, which translates into $30 million of incremental high-margin fee income for Visa based on $20 billion of aggregator volume.

  Fiscal 2014 EPS guidance achievable. First quarter margins of 65.8% were a record, and were 230 bps above the previous record (FQ1-2012). FY 2014 EPS guidance calls for mid-to-high teen growth but assumes higher operating expense in 2Q and 3Q and ongoing F/X headwinds from current turmoil in emerging markets. Mid-to-high teen EPS growth appears reasonable gi

• [By Chris Hill]

  Shares of Visa (NYSE: V  ) rose to an all-time high this week after the company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Earlier in the week, Mastercard (NYSE: MA  ) reported a 12% increase in first-quarter profits, but shares fell on lower-than-expected revenues. In this installment of Motley Fool Money, our analysts discuss Visa, MasterCard, and the future of electronic payments.

• [By Sean Williams]

  And then there's payment processing company Visa (NYSE: V  ) , perhaps one of the very few long-term investments you can get charged up about that combines the potential for rapid growth with consistency in nearly all economic environments. The way I see it, Visa has five opportunities that put it at the head of the class.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images MasterCard (MA), the world's second-largest debit and credit card company, said it was extending its zero-liability policy for cardholders in the United States to include all PIN-based and ATM transactions. The move follows several data breaches at U.S. companies including one at Target (TGT) late last year involving the theft of about 40 million credit and debit card records. "The move by MasterCard just enhances the sense of security for people at a time when it has been shaken up significantly in recent times," said Gil Luria, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. Zero-liability protection currently covers card transactions that require a customer's signature but doesn't apply if an account holder's personal identification number, or PIN, was used for unauthorized transactions. The new policy will take effect in October. Zero-liability protection means the account holder won't be held responsible for unauthorized transactions. Larger rival Visa's (V) zero-liability policy doesn't apply to PIN-based and ATM transactions, according to information available on the company's website. "The changes that we're making in cardholder protection combined with our efforts to move the U.S. payments industry to EMV chip technology will help deliver safer shopping experiences to consumers," said Chris McWilton, president of North American markets for MasterCard. The two companies have urged banks and retailers to meet an October 2015 deadline for the adoption of "EMV" chip technology that would make it safer to pay with plastic. "This all comes back to the adoption of EMV. Of all the cards that are breached at ATMs, a majority of them are non-EMV cards. This is just another way for the company to impress upon the importance of quickly adopting EMV cards," said Philip Philliou, managing partner of Philliou Partners, a firm that helps banks and retailers select payment processors. U.S. cards issued by MasterCard will also

Best Blue Chip Stocks 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 Paul Ausick]

  On Monday, the McResource�website for employees of McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) suggested that employees avoid eating too much fast food, and showed a photo of something that looks very much like a McDonald’s meal labeled as an “unhealthy choice.” By Thursday, the website had been taken down. Spending on advertising promoting fast food likely will�continue.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  )
  The fast-food giant missed expectations both for revenue and for earnings, producing less than 1% greater sales and a 2.4% gain in net income. Comparable-store sales fell in the U.S., Europe, and the Asia-Pacific/Middle East/Africa region, and McDonald's said it expected weakness to persist in April as well.

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  3. McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) McDonald's can be crowned not only a Dividend Aristocrat, but also the king of fast food. This server of Big Macs has boosted its dividend for 36 straight years. The stock currently boasts a dividend yield of 3%.�