Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2015

What do you get when you combine a strong jobs report plus a promising beginning to earnings season, and soothing words from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke? A new record closing high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , of course.

The blue chips jumped 169 points today, or 1.1%, to close out at 15,460, topping the previous closing high of 15,409 that it hit on May 28 of this year. The S&P 500 also hit a new closing high. The Dow's intraday high from May 22, of 15,542, still stands. Today's surge came as Ben Bernanke said that the Fed's accommodative monetary policy would stay in place in order to lower the unemployment rate, which currently sits at 7.6%. It should come as no surprise to see the markets respond like this, as investors have been obsessed with monetary policy since Bernanke first seriously floated the idea of tapering the central bank's $85 billion a month bond-buying program on May 22. His recent statement seems to indicate that the Fed will not be hasty in reducing the stimulus.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 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 Jon C. Ogg]

  Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was the big DJIA gainer, and it being the largest DJIA stock by weighting made all the difference in the world. Its stock was up 4.1% at $231.00 in the final minutes before the closing bell. The gains of AmEx were the big driving force here, and Visa’s nearly 9% weighting in the DJIA makes it three times more dominant than the average DJIA stock.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  What we would first refer you to is our prediction of the six major dividend hikes before the end of 2013. Then we would focus on Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) as well, even if it was not included in our recent dividend hike predictions. Frankly, it should have been obvious but for some reason was not.

• [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]

  In this video, Motley Fool financial analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer discuss three reasons American Express is well-positioned and a possibly better than Visa (NYSE: V  ) or MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) �as�way to play the growth in plastic.�

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Laura Brodbeck]

  Thursday

  Earnings Expected From: Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD), Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) Economic Releases Expected: French trade balance, British trade balance, eurozone consumer confidence, German industrial production, Bank of England interest rate decision, European Central Bank interest rate decision, US initial and continuing jobless claims, Chinese trade balance

  Friday

• [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 Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Phillip Morris (PM) have been performing about as well as a soggy cigarette–but Morgan Stanley still hopes they will catch fire.

  Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

  How bad has performance of Phillip Morris been? Its shares have dropped 1.9% during the past 12 months, while American-focused Altria Group (MO) has gained 15%. British American Tobacco (BTI) has gained 3%, Reynolds American (RAI) has advanced 14%, and Lorillard (LO) has jumped 26%.

  And now Morgan Stanley’s David Adelman and team have cut their earnings-per-share forecast for Phillip Morris by 11 cents thanks to the strong dollar, after cutting it by 41 cents six weeks ago. Adelman explains why:

  While PM�� significant EM exposure has been an important driver of its 8%+ constant-currency 2008-2013 EBIT CAGR, recent weakness in a number of important EM currencies (e.g., Argentina, Turkey and Indonesia) will undoubtedly weigh on 2014 reported results. Further, it remains somewhat unclear the extent to which added Yen weakness will impact results, as PM�� F/X guidance already suggests that it was somewhat hedged on USD/Yen. Finally, with ~60% of its operating expenses denominated in ��ard dollar��currencies (USD, EUR and CHF), we have also incorporated a significant estimated transactional F/X impact (+40% of our $0.52/share est.).

  Still, Adelman kept Phillip Morris rated Overweight. He explains why:

  Remain OW, as stock should benefit from recent weakness and achievable 2014 targets: After underperforming US Tobacco and Staples by 18% and 24%, respectively, in 2013, and with expectations already lowered to a conservative level of 6-8% currency-neutral underlying EPS growth in 2014, we believe current valuation of ~14.5x 2015e P/E and <10x EV/EBITDA remains attractive. We continue to view local-currency earnings risk as to the upside, particularly as no new issues have appeared to emerge entering 2014 (such as unforeseen outsized excise

Top 5 Companies 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 Matt Thalman]

  We'll hear from a number of the Dow's components this week. First up is McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) , which is scheduled to release results on Monday before the opening bell rings. Wall Street's estimate for earnings per share is $1.40, which will be important for the company to beat, though perhaps it's not the most important detail of the report. This has been a rough year for the fast-food restaurant, which has struggled with beating same-store sales figures. For most investors, that will be what they want to see in the report.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Speaking of dividends
  Of the previously existing holdings in the portfolio, two paid their dividends last week: fast-food giant McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) and electricity generator NV Energy (NYSE: NVE  ) . McDonald's $0.77 per share added $12.32 to the iPIG portfolio's coffers and was the company's third consecutive quarterly dividend at that rate. NV Energy's $0.19 per share handed $15.96 to the iPIG portfolio and was the second quarterly payout at that level.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Another company that has been battling the obesity issue and is falling today is McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) . Shares are down 1.04% after the company announced that key sales figures fell again in April. The company is blaming fears of the avian flu as reason for the weak performance in China. Sales fell 0.6% globally in April, even though the U.S. market increased by 0.7%. But the largest decline came from Europe, were sales dropped 2.4% during the month.�

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Eric Bleeker, CFA, Chris Hill, and Lyons George]

  In this segment, Eric and Lyons discuss Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) ambitions around creating an "iWatch." In the past week, Apple applied for a trademark on the term iWatch in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan, leading many to speculate as to whether the launch of an iWatch is imminent, and whether such a product would be another hit product from Apple.�

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Jon C. Ogg]

  Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is now $68 (versus a $59.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own 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 GuruFocus]

  International Business Machines Corp (IBM) Reached the 52-Week Low of $184.48

  The prices of International Business Machines Corp (IBM) shares have declined to close to the 52-week low of $184.48, which is 16.1% off the 52-week high of $215.9. International Business Machines Corp is owned by 32 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 14 have added to their positions during the past quarter. Eighteen reduced their positions.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Thomas J. Watson, Sr. became president of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company on May 1, 1914 -- you know it today as International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM  ) , and it's thanks in no small part to Watson's enduring legacy that you know it at all. In 1914, the future IBM was a disjointed, sprawling enterprise that its founders were having difficulty controlling. Watson streamlined the company, giving it a focus, a motto, and a corporate identity that persists to this day.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2015: 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 Lauren Pollock]

  Chevron Corp.(CVX) intends to spend $39.8 billion on capital and exploratory investments next year, about $2 billion less than is expected for 2013, which was a relative peak year for such spending.