Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch Right Now

LONDON -- The shares of�AstraZeneca� (LSE: AZN  ) (NYSE: AZN  ) added 6 pence to 3,359 pence during early London trade this morning after the company said it will write off $140 million following the outcome of a product trial.

The FTSE 100 member confirmed the charge related to the development of fostamatinib, an oral treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and would be taken in the second quarter.

AstraZeneca said the results from a phase 3 test program, alongside data reported previously from earlier trials, had prompted the company not to proceed with regulatory filings for the product.

The blue chip also claimed that hypertension, diarrhea, nausea, headache, and nasopharyngitis were among the treatment's most commonly reported side effects.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 Charles Sizemore]

  One of the “big picture” economic themes that I expect to play out over 2011 and beyond is the secular shift to a global cashless society.?Though the process is well on its way in the U.S. and Europe, roughly 40% of all transactions are still made with cash and paper checks according to Barron’s.

  This means that even in “boring” developed markets, there is ample room for growth in electronic payments. And there is no better company to benefit from this trend than credit card giant Visa (NYSE: V).

• [By Ed Carson]

  The holiday season was hit or miss for many retailers, but indicators are that consumers were using plastic. Visa shares have risen steadily for the past seven months, with a strong 6% gain so far in 2013. Even in America, consumers continue to shift more from cash and checks to credit and debit cards. Overseas, consumers are adopting plastic, while some are bypassing cards and going straight to mobile payments. Visa wants to make sure it's part of that mobile solution.

  Visa earnings growth has decelerated for the past two quarters from 30% to 24% to 21%. Revenue growth in the latest quarter picked up to 15%, matching the best gains of the past two years.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 Jeff Reeves]

  McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) isn’t quite as dramatic as Apple when it comes to stock performance. The company has “only” doubled since 2007 and “only” tripled since 2005 — compared with 330% gains since 2007 and 900% gains since 2005 for Apple.

  But you have to admit, those gains still are incredibly impressive — especially for a mammoth blue chip like McDonald’s that is dominant worldwide.

  Also worth consideration is the fact that, since 2007, McDonald’s has paid dividends totaling $9.26 per share. Since McDonald’s stock was trading around $45 four years ago, that means on top of doubling your money via the share appreciation, you would have gotten back about 20% of your initial investment via dividends alone. Or if you reinvested those funds, you really could have supercharged your returns even more.

  Looking forward, McDonald’s shows no signs of slowing down. It has surpassed analysts’ expectations in?four of its past five earnings reports, most recently with second-quarter numbers boasting a 15% increase in profits. While its revenue has risen at a modest 3.6% annual rate during the past five years, net income has surged at a 14.6% annual rate — proving MCD can maintain margins and grow profits even if sales don’t soar.

  McDonald’s, like Apple, knows how to deliver small-cap gains despite its blue-chip size. That makes this pick a keeper.

• [By Brian Gorban]

   Fast food giant and world-renowned company McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is undoubtedly a name you’ve heard of, as “the golden arches” are ubiquitous--and with good reason: The company operates over 33,000 restaurants in 119 countries. With over $27 billion in revenue and a market capitalization near $90 billion, McDonald’s is simply a juggernaut and should continue to be a beneficiary of the global growth story happening predominately in the “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries in the years and decades to come.

  Of course, those countries have not been spared the current economic carnage and that has caused the company to miss the past two quarters’ consensus estimates, but that has created a buying opportunity. With the stock trading not far above its $83.31 52-week low, McDonald’s is now yielding an attractive 3.5% dividend yield, and with a low 54% payout ratio, look for the dividend to not only be safe but be raised in the near future. Add in the fact that the company has a comparatively and historically low 16x forward and trailing P/E, and I think MCD should serve investors well for the long-term while one can wait and happily collect the nice 3.5% dividend.

• [By ETF_Authority]

  McDonald’s Corporation (MCD), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a foodservice retailer worldwide. The company has raised distributions for 35 years in a row. The 10 year annual dividend growth rate is 26.50%/year. The last dividend increase was 14.75% to 70 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that McDonald's will earn $5.73/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly dividend will reach 77 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 2.80%

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Buy 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 Hawkinvest]

  Chevron Corporation (CVX) is a leading integrated energy company with exposure to oil, natural gas, refining, etc. This could be one of the most undervalued stocks in the market. Chevron pays a dividend that beats many other stock and bond yields, plus it has a below market price to earnings ratio of about 8 times earnings. The average stock in the S&P 500 Index currently trades for over 12 times earnings. If oil prices continue to rise, the already healthy profit estimates for Chevron might be too low. With oil prices showing strength this early in the season, Chevron could be poised to beat earnings in the coming months. However, the stock is trading at the upper end of the recent trading range. Recently, it has been possible to buy this stock at about $102 per share, so waiting for dips could pay off.

  Here are some key points for CVX:

  Current share price: $104.25

  The 52 week range is $85.63 to $110.01

  Earnings estimates for 2012: $12.66 per share

  Earnings estimates for 2013: $13.20 per share

  Annual dividend: $3.42 per share which yields 3.1%

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Chevron (NYSE:CVX) provides support to its subsidiaries in the following fields: petroleum operations, chemicals operations, mining operations, power generation and energy services. While many stocks on the NYSE have underperformed in 2011, Chevron stock is up 8% year to date.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 Hesler]

  Colgate-Palmolive Company(NYSE: CL), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. This dividend champion has raised distributions for 48 years in a row and currently yields 2.80%.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) is a staple of consumer products, selling its oral, personal, home care and pet nutrition products in over 200 countries. A nice year-to-date return of 16% has helped keep Colgate stock holders happy all year.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 Peter Hughes]

  International Business Machines (IBM) -- our aggressive pick for the year -- is one of the world's most dominant technology companies, with annual revenues of $105 billion and net income of $16 billion.

• [By Paul]

  IBM. Emerging markets are a big growth driver for this computer systems and software provider. Not only that, Resendes says, IBM has "a bullet-proof balance sheet that will allow it to weather the current storm and position it for superior growth and profitability in the long term." He thinks the stock, which recently traded at $93, is worth $120 a share: ''There are some obvious companies that offer much bigger discounts, but you have to incorporate the safety factor. You're getting a premium company here that's a good spot to be in within the tech space."

• [By Jim Cramer]

  When this company talked about lofty EPS for 2015, initially the street was skeptical especially after IBM reported a blah quarter soon after the expectations were laid out. I now think the company has $20 earnings per share capabilities out three years and that $13 is doable for 2011. You keep the multiple the same and you get a $169 stock. I think it does just that. This one's cheap, way too cheap and it will be cheap next year, too, but on a bigger earnings base which is how it can get to my price target.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  IBM (NYSE:IBM) is an international IT company made famous by its line of personal computers and various IT services. A year-to-date gain of 18% shows IBM stock has a lot to offer.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 MelvinPasternak]

  Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products. The company has raised distributions since the spin-off from Altria Group in 2008. The last dividend increase was 20.30% to 77 cents/share. Analysts are expecting that Philip Morris International will earn $5.22/share in 2012. I expect that the quarterly distribution will reach 85 cents/share in 2012. Yield: 3.90%

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) is involved with the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in over 180 countries across the globe. Year to date, PM stock is up 16%, compared to a loss of nearly 2% for the Dow Jones.

• [By Michael Brush]

  Philip Morris International (PM) has a dividend yield of 3.7%.

  This company is the world's second-biggest cigarette seller, after China National Tobacco. Philip Morris International controls the rights outside the United States to such brands as Marlboro, Virginia Slims and Parliament. So it's positioned to sell more cigarettes as smokers in rapid-growth emerging markets earn more and trade up to premium brands.
  

   

  Insiders continue to buy the stock, suggesting room for further appreciation. And, of course, tobacco's addictive nature assures steady revenue. If you oppose smoking for moral, health or other reasons, this stock is not for you. As an ex-smoker, I'd understand.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch 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 Michael Fowlkes]

  Tech-giant Apple (AAPL) has seen its shares take a serious beating in recent months, but we believe the selloff has just about reached its end. The underlying fundamentals remain strong and we expect to see several new products next year. The concerns that have led to the recent sell off are real, but at the same time not as material as some would like you to believe. A big concern is theslowing of its earnings growth. Last year it had 100% earnings growth, but that has dropped to 23% this year.

  You need to ask yourself, considering Apple’s size, is a 23% jump in earnings growth really a bad thing? Apple has become a victim of its own success, and is having a hard time keeping up with its past successes. This does not mean the company is in trouble, it just means that investors need to have a more realistic view of the company’s business. Once the current panic subsides, we believe investors will come back to the stock, and realize that it is a great value with its current P/E of just 12.