Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014

A recent article on Benzinga detailed how to use sniper tactics to buy stocks when the dividend yields are higher.

The method involved setting a dividend yield as the target, and then buying at that price. From that, the stock has a lower price and a higher dividend yield.

There are many blue chip stocks with high dividends and high betas such as BP PLC (NYSE: BP), the major oil firm, and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) -- the world's largest heavy equipment maker and a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Another one to consider is Cohen & Steers Inc (NYSE: CNS), an asset manager based in New York City.

5 Best Gold Stocks To Watch 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 Claudia Assis]

  Big Oil shares were higher as well, with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �shares up 0.3%. Chevron Corp. (CVX) �shares rose 0.5%, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �advanced 0.9%.

• [By John Divine]

  Lastly, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , one of just six blue chip decliners, fell 0.8% on Thursday. The energy titan is working toward a deal with Argentina's YPF to develop the Vaca Muerta basin, thought to be one of the two or three largest shale oil and gas reservoirs in the world. But with all that potential reward comes some geopolitical risk, and a hefty investment, which could approach $15 billion in time.

• [By M. Joy Hayes, Joy]

  Thus, a failure to protect these employees arguably puts Exxon at a competitive disadvantage against companies like Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , Shell Oil (NYSE: RDS-A  ) , and BP (NYSE: BP  ) which, according to the Human Rights Campaign, all offer better protections and benefits for LGBT employees.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  So, which are the best stocks to buy and hold forever?

  Stocks to Buy: Chevron (CVX)

  The first is Chevron (CVX). With certain companies, and this includes Chevron and other big oil stocks, I’m not actually looking for EPS growth. Instead, I’m interested in the role CVX stock plays in the human experience.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks 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 WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Alamy NEW YORK -- Visa wants to make it easier for people to spot a cheaper prepaid card. The payment processor said it will put labels on packages of cards that meet a new set of standards it unveiled Tuesday. Those standards include a flat monthly fee and no hidden charges. Companies that issue Visa prepaid cards will have to apply for the new label, and the program is voluntary. It could take up to a year before the seal of approval starts showing up on packaging. Prepaid cards are mainly aimed at people without checking accounts. The cards allow people to pay bills, receive direct deposits and swipe it like a debit card in stores. But critics have said some cards aren't clear about what they charge, even attracting attention from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The federal agency is currently testing fee disclosures that it may propose on prepaid card packaging. Visa (V) hopes its new label will push card issuers to be more transparent and lower fees. To receive the label, the card must have no fees for declined transactions, calling customer service, paying at a cash register, using in-network ATMs or for getting cash back at a register. The cards also must be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or the National Credit Union Administration. They will also have Visa's fraud protection. The new standards were developed with the Center for Financial Services Innovation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Visa hasn't come up with a new name for the label yet, said Cecilia Frew, who oversees its prepaid card business. Since card issuers need to apply to receive the label, it could be nine to 12 months before Visa starts awarding them. The new label is only for U.S. cards. Visa has 25,000 prepaid card partners around the world.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Visa (NYSE: V  ) will release its quarterly report tomorrow, and anticipating continued strong growth, investors haven't hesitated to pile into the stock. Because of the company's position atop the credit card network industry, Visa earnings have been growing at a breakneck pace in recent years, and at least for now, that dominance appears likely to continue.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks 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 Laura Brodbeck]

  Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX).

• [By Matt Thalman]

  When the Dow falls more than 100 points, it's usually easy to find a few losers. This morning, I talked about why American Express, Du Pont, and Caterpillar were all lower;�click here to read about those stocks, or continue reading to learn about�JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) , AT&T (NYSE: T  ) , and IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) .

• [By Sean O'Reilly]

  O'Reilly: Sorry to interrupt, but a lot of companies have come out -- not to knock another tech firm, but IBM� (NYSE: IBM  ) obviously had that $20 earnings per share by, was it 2015?

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Consider that the mother of all server companies, IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) just announced quarterly earnings this past week and missed on the top and bottom lines. It was the company's first earnings miss since 2005. The main reason for the miss was weak demand in the IT hardware segment, and analysts think this is a bad sign moving forward for the whole industry, not just for IBM.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks 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 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.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks 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 Jonas Elmerraji]

  As the world's second largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PM) is the prototypical sin stock. It boasts recognizable brands, a sticky customer base, and a hefty dividend payout -- and the payout looks due for a dividend hike. As I write, Philip Morris International currently pays out a 85 cents each quarter, adding up to a 4.05% yield.

  Philip Morris owns almost 30% of the world's tobacco market. And much of that success is thanks to a single iconic brand: Marlboro. The firm has owned Marlboro (as well as second-tier names such as L&M and Parliament) internationally ever since Altria (MO) split up its international and domestic operations. Between the two markets, PM owns the more attractive franchise by far. After all, the international market is the only one that's actually growing.

  While the U.S. market for tobacco products is rife with regulation and demographic shifts are turning away from smoking, international tobacco sales are up -- especially in emerging markets. Premium positioning in markets like India, China and Indonesia translates into substantial cash flows for PM investors. And while the strength of the dollar has been a challenge post-2008, the potential for a Fed taper could strengthen this stock's payout in 2013.

• [By Kelley Wright]

  Tobacco is a controversial business; but for Philip Morris International (PM), it's a market basically unaffected by economic slowdowns or rising commodity prices, which means it is stable and defensive; a combination we can live with. We also like the $3.76 dividend, outstanding growth, and a five-year average return on equity of over 160.

• [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.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) was down, falling 1.12 percent to $82.76. Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Philip Morris International from Buy to Neutral and lowered the target price to $87.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks 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 Sean Williams]

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) set the stage for the market and tech sector by reporting its second-quarter results last night. The bottom-line figure topped Wall Street's estimate as Apple delivered 37.4 million iPhones and 19.5 million iPads during the quarter and increased its cash balance to a monstrous $145 billion. Further, the company boosted its share repurchase authorizations by 500% and raised its quarterly payout 15%. Still, its conservative third-quarter forecast fell short of estimates once again and the Street seems generally unimpressed with a suddenly giving Apple.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Considering the general strength of the day, why are investors feeling down today? Bloomberg blames Wells Fargo’s downgrade of Apple (AAPL), which has weighed on tech shares today. The Wall Street Journal says its the fault of weak overseas markets. Considering that a number of last year’s top-performing stocks are falling today, it could just be early-year rebalancing.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  APA Microsoft Windows store at Best Buy. Best Buy, the largest U.S. specialty retailer of consumer electronics, reported lower-than-expected revenue for the third straight quarter, as fewer people bought PCs and electronics, and those who did increasingly bought them online. Best Buy (BBY), shares of which fell 6.7 percent in early trading, said it expected same-store sales to decline in the low-single digits in the second half of the year. Same-store sales fell 2.7 percent in the second quarter ended Aug. 2, more than the 2.2 percent decline estimated by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix. U.S. same-store sales slipped 2 percent. Best Buy also said operating margins were likely to remain under pressure due to higher sales of lower-margin items, overall industry softness and discounting in Canada and China. "We see the margin guides as conservative," J.P. Morgan (JPM) analyst Christopher Horvers wrote in a note, adding the company could benefit from the anticipated iPhone launch and sales of ultra high-definition 4K televisions. Apple (AAPL) is expected to launch its latest iPhone next month. Best Buy said it expected continued softness in mobile phone sales ahead of the "highly-anticipated" release of new models. The company saw encouraging customer response to 4K televisions, but their impact on sales would be "relatively limited" this year, Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly said on a conference call. Best Buy said it plans to invest $40 million-$50 million in the second half to improve operations such as shipping and order fulfillment. "Industry-wide sales are continuing to decline in many of the consumer electronics categories in which we compete," Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam said in a statement Tuesday. Sales of consumer electronics such as TVs and desktop and notebook computers fell 2.5 percent industrywide in the quarter, the company said, citing NPD Group's Weekly Tracking Service. Such items make up about 65 p

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Sorting out the winners and losers
  The interesting trend to watch is where consumer dollars are going. Recent data suggests that the PC is in steep decline, presumably replaced by tablets and other mobile devices. But when we look at the valuations of companies that would benefit from tablet sales, they're not trading any higher than those that still rely on the PC. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , which still dominates tablets, is less expensive than Microsoft and Intel in many ways, so the market is down on everything.