5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2014

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is not just a collection of 30 market-defining blue chips. It's also packed with brilliant dividend stocks.

All 30 of the current components pay a dividend today, ranging from Bank of America' modest 0.3% yield (with a bullet, now that regulators have finally given the bank the option to raise payouts again) to AT&T and its massive 4.7% yield backed by monthly payments from more than 100 million wireless customers.

The average Dow stock sports a 2.6% dividend yield and has increased payouts by 8.7% annually over the last decade. As a testament to the Dow's dividend strength, that long-term growth includes the banking industry's blanket cuts after the 2008 meltdown. For another perspective on the Dow's dividend powers, consider that about half of the 2,800 stocks in the Russell 3000 index index don't pay dividends at all. The average yield on that wider market barometer is also 2.6%, but payouts grow at a far slower 6% annual rate.

Best Bank Companies To Invest In 2015: 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

5 Best 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 jaggom]

  Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) manufactures chips that enable wireless connectivity, therefore, the company has got huge market to be addressed in the future as the consumption of data is expected to multiply. Skyworks is performing brilliantly this year with shares appreciating more than 45%. The company has also gained smartly from its supplier relationships with Apple (AAPL) and Samsung. So, despite handsome gains in the current year so far, Skyworks still has room to gear up.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Apple (AAPL)

  As of the close of the second quarter there were 43 guru owners of Apple. During the past quarter there were 27 gurus buying shares of AAPL and there were 22 gurus making sells of their stake in the company. These gurus maintain a combined weighting of 72.04%.

5 Best 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 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.

• [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.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  )
  Colgate's shares are trading well below the $62 high they hit just last month. The consumer goods company is heavily levered to international sales, with more than 80% of its business coming from outside the U.S. and more than half coming from emerging markets.

5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Jacob Roche]

  Meanwhile, cafe competitor McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) is investing $6.5 million to help Guatemalan farmers produce more high-quality beans using sustainable methods. McDonald's U.K., New Zealand, and Australia already source all of their coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified beans, and the Guatemalan investment should give the company access to even more supply for its other stores. That, in turn, may give investors a reason to smile.