Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch For 2014

It's been a busy day for the market's most important tickers. No fewer than five of the 30 Dow (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) companies reported earnings either last night or this morning. If you had expected these news-heavy tickers to set the tone for the Dow's trading action, you may be disappointed. Three of the five missed analysts expectations -- yet the Dow is trading up today anyhow.

How did these five blue chips fare last quarter? Let's take a look at the Dow's biggest movers.

Image source: UnitedHealth Group.

Let's start with the day's biggest winner. Shares of health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) have jumped 6.8% today on a combination of strong earnings and in-line sales. In the second quarter, revenue rose 12% year over year to $30.4 billion. Diluted GAAP earnings jumped 10% to $1.40 per share. Analysts were expecting sales of $30.5 billion and earnings of $1.25 per share.

Hot 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 Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top Headline
  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

  McDonald's quarterly earnings rose to $1.397 billion, or $1.40 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.396 billion, or $1.38 per share.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is projected to report its February same-store sales. McDonald's shares fell 0.09% to $95.41 in the after-hours trading session.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Avg. High Yield Price 2. 20-Year DCF Price 3. Avg. P/E Price 4. Graham Number CINF is trading at a discount to only 3.) above. The stock is trading at a 36.8% premium to its calculated fair value of $34.96. CINF did not earn any Stars in this section. Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Free Cash Flow Payout 2. Debt To Total Capital 3. Key Metrics 4. Dividend Growth Rate 5. Years of Div. Growth 6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% CINF earned two Stars in this section for 1.) and 2.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1954 and has increased its dividend payments for 54 consecutive years. Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. NPV MMA Diff. 2. Years to > MMA The NPV MMA Diff. of the $62 is below the $500 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as CINF has. If CINF grows its dividend at 1.2% per year, it will take 5 years to equal a MMA yielding an estimated 20-year average rate of 3.68%. Memberships and Peers: CINF is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Divid

• [By Mike Deane]

  Before the opening bell on Thursday, McDonald’s (MCD) announced its fourth quarter earnings, with revenues increasing from last year’s fourth quarter while global comparable sales fell.

  MCD Earnings in Brief

  McDonald’s reported fourth quarter revenues of $7.093 billion, which were up 2% from last year’s Q4 revenues of $6.952 billion. The company’s net income came in at $1.397 billion, or $1.40 per share, up from last year’s net income of $1.396 billion, or $1.38 per share. MCD beat analysts’ EPS estimate of $1.39 per share, but fell slightly below the revenue expectation of $7.11 billion. For the fourth quarter, MCD reported that global comparable sales fell 0.1%.

  CEO Commentary

  McDonald’s president and CEO, Don Thompson, had the following to say about the company’s mixed report:�”Around the world, consumers want a satisfying meal at an affordable price from a brand they trust. At McDonald’s, delivering a consistent customer-focused restaurant experience continues to be our top priority. While 2013 was a challenging year, we begin 2014 with a renewed focus on the global growth priorities that are most impactful to our customers. We are uniting consumer insights with innovation and consistent execution to optimize our menu, modernize the customer experience and broaden accessibility to Brand McDonald’s.”

  McDonald’s Dividend

  McDonald’s made no mention of a dividend change in its quarterly report. McDonald’s last announced a dividend raise in September 2013 for its December dividend. The company raised its quarterly dividend from 77 cents to 81 cents – a 5.1% raise.

  Stock Performance

  MCD stock was down 36 cents, or 0.38%, in pre-market trading this morning. So far this year, the company’s stock is down 1.59%.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Jon C. Ogg]

  BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) has shot itself in the foot over losing so much ground in the smartphone wars. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has taken over market share, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) remains the leader in higher-priced smartphones with its key iPhone 5 variations. News came out on Tuesday that BlackBerry has launched a BlackBerry P’9982 which is designed by Porsche.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Given those growth projections, I think it makes sense to own companies with the big pieces of this market. ARM Holdings (ARMH) is a member of my Jubak's Picks portfolio. And so are Apple (AAPL) and Qualcomm (QCOM).

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Tomorrow marks the beginning of Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC. The opening keynote has frequently been used as a staging ground for product introductions, including both hardware and software. For years, Apple used WWDC to unveil new iPhone models before shifting the iPhone product cycle to the fall last year.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  That's getting into Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone territory, although those prices are $100 less than the comparable models of the top-of-the-line iPhone 5S. Samsung Electronics' (OTCMKTS: SSNLF) flagship, the new Galaxy S5, is about the same price as the Fire.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Teresa Rivas]

  We think KMB will be perceived as the safest of the multinationals. Its sales outside the US are about 55% of total; this compares to 65%-70% for Procter & Gamble (PG) and Coty (COTY) and 80%-90% for Colgate (CL), Avon and Tupperware (TUP). In general, its risk to the most volatile currencies is below average (its exposure to Eastern Europe is less than 2% of sales), though it is still translating results in Venezuela (about 3% of sales and profit) at the official rate of 6.3 VEF/$ (the parallel rate just hit 175 VEF/$) and Argentina (also 3% of sales) may devalue again. The cost of important raw materials has started to weaken; as they follow oil�� decline they could boost gross margins in 2H15. Of note, polypropylene and natural gas are off 17% 4Q-to-date; pulp prices, while not declining much, seem manageable.

• [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. �

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  One concern, though, is how the company handled news of Venezuela's currency devaluation. Clorox (NYSE: CLX  ) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) also felt the pinch, with Clorox taking about a $0.05 to $0.10 per-share earnings hit and Colgate losing about $0.50 per share. But they also addressed the potential devaluation more proactively than P&G did. Clorox actually�anticipated�the devaluation in its February earnings report, projecting the potential hit if a devaluation took place. Colgate didn't provide specific guidance in advance but clearly saw it as an issue, delivering on a promise to give prompt guidance revisions after the devaluation occurred.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Other earnings highlights in the coming week include Dow components McDonald�� Corp. (MCD) , DuPont (DD) , AT&T Inc. (T) , and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) . Notable S&P 500 companies include Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Netflix Inc. (NFLX) �, Amgen Inc. (AMGN) �, TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) �, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) �, Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) �, Ford Motor Co. (F) �, Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) �, and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) �

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Tim Brugger]

  For the last year, through the first calendar quarter of 2013, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) has generated about $76 billion in revenues, so why would a mere $1.19 billion in sales in what is now a relatively minor $13.1 billion market, according to recent data from Gartner, warrant investor discussion? Or take the case of IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) and its $104.5 billion in annual revenues in 2012. Its paltry $1.63 billion piece of this particular pie hardly makes a dent, so what's the big deal?

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Victor Selva]

  It is best suited for investors looking for diversification across sectors at a low cost. Let's see the fund麓s holding list:

  Apple Inc (AAPL) 3.21% Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) 2.80% Google Inc (GOOG) 1.97% General Electric Co (GE) 1.80% Microsoft Corp (MSFT) 1.78% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 1.62% Chevron Corp (CVX) 1.52% Procter & Gamble Co (PG) 1.40% JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) 1.38% Wells Fargo & Co (WFC)1.38%

  Total Percentage of Top 10 Holdings: 18.86%

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Cleanliness is a must
  Despite the potential for so much oil in the region, many people in the industry may still be a little skeptical of working offshore Brazil after watching the political fiasco following the Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) spill back in 2011. After spilling about 2,500 barrels of oil, both Chevron and rig manager Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) were threatened with over $20 billion in fines and civil litigation, as well as a permanent expulsion from the country. That would put the spill at about $8 million per barrel spilled, which is astronomical compared to the about $5,000 per barrel BP spent so far on the Macondo spill that occurred back in 2010.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Chevron Corporation (CVX) is a global integrated oil company (formerly ChevronTexaco) with interests in exploration, production, refining and marketing, and petrochemicals.
  Yield: 3.3% | Years of Dividend Growth: 26

• [By Anna Prior]

  Chevron Corp.(CVX) said it expects its second-quarter production to decline slightly from the year-earlier period as lower output abroad offsets a modest increase domestically.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Roberto Pedone]

  One stock that insiders are buying up a large amount of here is Philip Morris International (PM), which manufactures and sells cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside the U.S. Insiders are buying this stock into modest strength, since shares are up 5.5% so far in 2013.

  Philip Morris International has a market cap of $143 billion and an enterprise value of $168 billion. This stock trades at a reasonable valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 17.25 and a forward price-to-earnings of 14.6. Its estimated growth rate for this year is 4.2%, and for next year it's pegged at 11.8%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $3.59 billion and its total debt is $25.50 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 3.8%.

  A director just bought 123,500 shares, or about $11.01 million worth of stock, at $89.15 per share.

  From a technical perspective, PM is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been downtrending over the last two months and change, with shares dropping from its high of $95.38 to its recent low of $85.21 a share. During that move, shares of PM have been mostly making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action.

  If you're bullish on PM, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support at $87.65 to $87 and then once it takes out its 200-day at $88.72 and its 50-day at $89.25 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 5.10 million shares. If we get that move soon, then PM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $91.40 to $92.26 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $94 to $95 into range for shares of PM.

   

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  However, you would be hard-pressed to find any connection between falling smoking prevalence and share performance at Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI  ) , Lorriland (NYSE: LO  ) , Phillip Morris (NYSE: PM  ) , and Altria (NYSE: MO  ) . These companies are some of the best performers in the past decade. In fact, Altria is the best-performing stock of the last half-century!

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  Altria Group (MO) was able to spin-off its Kraft Foods division in 2007. Shareholders in Altria received shares in Kraft for each share of Altria stock they held. In 2008, this was followed by the spin-off of Phillip Morris International (PM), which represented the international tobacco business of Altria Group.

• [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.

Top 10 Blue Chip Companies To Watch 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 Lennox Yieke]

  In light of this, payments bigwigs Visa (NYSE: V  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) have increased their presence in the continent. Not only have Visa and MasterCard increased issuance of plastic money, but they have also made bold mobile money initiatives. Could this spur the next round of prolonged growth for the two bigwigs?

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Here's how Apple gets the profit it needs by 2018 to reach a $1 trillion market cap:

  The iPhone: Hand-wringing over the slowing growth in iPhone sales has been overblown. The law of large numbers dictates that Apple won't see 100% annual growth in iPhone sales ever again, but growth will remain steady. Research firm IDC projects that AAPL will sell 63.3 million more iPhones in 2018 than it does in 2014. Assuming profit margins stay about the same, such an increase will yield about $8.9 billion in additional annual net income by 2018. The iTunes Store/Software and Services: This previously quiet corner of Apple's empire is about to become a major contributor to the bottom line. Macquarie Capital projects that profits from this segment will explode from $10.95 billion this year to $19.12 billion in 2018, when it will account for a third of Apple's total profits. That's good for another $8.17 billion in annual net income. Wearable Tech: It's almost certain we'll see the rumored iWatch this fall - possibly as early as Sept. 9, when the iPhone 6 is expected to be unveiled. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has said that Apple could sell between 30 million and 60 million iWatches in its first year, with margins in excess of 40%. Assuming a sales price of $200 and 45 million iWatches sold, that would yield about $2 billion in profit in 2015. The wearable tech market is brand new and is expected to grow rapidly over the next several years, so by 2018 Apple should be wringing about $4 billion in annual net income from the iWatch and its successors. The Internet of Things: As a tech titan with an already powerful ecosystem, Apple is well-positioned to profit from the Internet of Things, a shorthand term for the idea that wireless networks and sensors will allow not just devices, but our cars, clothes, and home appliances to communicate. Wearable tech is a subset of this, but the Internet of Things is much, much bigger. Apple'