10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now

General Electric has gained 0.3% to $23.18 today after a report that it plans to unload its consumer lending division.

Exxon Mobil

The Wall Street Journal has the details:

The decision to divest the business, amid concerns about the company’s exposure to banking, marks an important moment in the evolution of GE and the country’s three-decade long consumer credit boom. GE Capital expanded to the point that its portfolio of loans and other assets now would rank it as the country’s fifth-largest commercial bank.

Preliminary work to separate the business through an initial public offering is under way, according to people familiar with the matter…An IPO could come early next year, the people said.

S&P Capital IQ’s Eric Hugel�considers what comes next for the U.S. blue chip:

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Dan Caplinger]

  Altria has topped the tobacco industry for decades, with its leading Marlboro brand retaining its popularity around the world. But with the company having spun off its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) division, Altria now has to rely on the U.S. market, with its unique challenges and risks. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Altria over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.43 per share on revenue of $7.94 billion.

  Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $30.16 billion.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  There are definitely concerns for Phillip Morris, which include decreased market share in many areas and poor debt management. However, up until this point, Phillip Morris has done a good job rewarding its shareholders. While history usually repeats itself, that�� not necessarily an all-positive in this case. Phillip Morris didn�� hold up well in 2008/early 2009. If a similar environment were to present itself again, then Phillip Morris wouldn�� be a top option ��regardless of the impressive yield. In the meantime, Phillip Morris is an OUTPERFORM.

• [By Tim McAleenan Jr.]

  And lastly, Mankiw mentions emerging markets. If you want to bet against the United States dollar and own a company that generates all of its profits outside the United States, it could be useful to take a look at Philip Morris International (PM). Asia makes up 37% of its profits. The Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe make up 27% of its profits. Smoking rates in countries like Indonesia are increasing at 10-25% annual rates. The Marlboro brand is gaining market share in Asia. The company is planning aggressive expansion into Central Africa. If you want emerging markets exposure, Philip Morris International could be a decent way to cover your bases.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Steve Symington]

  With beef prices on the rise, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) has officially decided to remove its Angus Third Pounder burgers from the menu by the middle of next month.

Hot Gold Stocks To Buy 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 Brian Stoffel]

  2. Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , P/E of 9.5
  Sometimes, it can be tough for large oil companies to get much love from Wall Street. With a market cap of more than $240 billion and sales expected to remain relatively flat over the next four years, it's understandable that most investors aren't willing to pay a premium for Chevron.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  On June 16, Chevron's (NYSE: CVX  ) Angola LNG plant, one of the largest liquefied natural gas processing facilities in Africa, shipped�its first cargo after major delays.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson]

  Both Visa (NYSE: V  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) have consistently outperformed for investors, based on what many see as a rock-solid simple investing thesis: that these companies have nowhere to go but up as the world switches from cash transactions to credit. But is that thesis just a little too simple to be safe? And can the growth ahead really justify these very pricey multiples? In this video, Fool financial analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson discuss which of these two hot financial stocks is a more attractive buy today.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Financial stocks are taking the brunt of the damage this morning. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) has dropped 1.1% to $129.83 at 9:38 a.m., making it the biggest loser among sector ETFs. Visa (V) and American Express (AXP) have dropped 1.8% and 1.7%, to lead the Dow lower.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Dan Caplinger]

  Still, the bigger question for Adobe is whether it can keep up its quality in web-content management despite rising levels of competition. Industry analyst Forrester highlighted Adobe's platform as having broad application, but it also noted the efforts that Oracle, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , and IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) have made in trying to make their digital experiences more appealing. In particular, HP has hinged its turnaround on moving away from commoditized businesses like PCs toward higher-margin software and services, hoping to use its extensive customer base to cross-sell services. Yet both IBM and Oracle have also been moving in the same direction, with IBM particularly having improved its web-content management offerings in order to broaden their appeal not just to the largest corporate customers but also to mid-sized companies as part of IBM's overall goal of building a broader customer base.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  This quarter was a though slough for most enterprise IT specialists. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL  ) disappointed in its latest report, citing poor sales execution against a difficult macroeconomic backdrop. IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) followed suit, blaming its unusual miss on soft government orders and a "once-every-10-year event" in China. Both stocks plunged after reporting results, 8% in IBM's case and more than 10% for Oracle.

• [By Freelance Individual Investor]

  And speaking of client wins, there are some simple truths about ARUN's client base which can't be denied. Some of the most technologically savvy, analytical and discerning buyers are choosing ARUN. Again, there is little discussion here about technology. But why should you listen to me, or any financial analyst or CFA, try to be an 'expert' on technology. When companies issue Requests For Proposals, they bring in very astute and analytical people to evaluate the choices. This is especially true in University settings where academia will scrutinize every minute detail. Universities such as Northwestern, Indiana University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Florida State, Texas A&M, Holy Cross, San Diego State, Shanghai University of Finance, Purdue University and many other large, medium, and small universities around the world are choosing ARUN's technology. Many K-12 schools are also converting to ARUN. In addition, the Department of Defense and the FDIC have given substantial business to ARUN in the Government vertical. They also have a substantial client list in the medical and enterprise verticals. The recent revelation about partnering with Google to implement a complete solution set in all Starbucks stores throughout the U.S. is one prominent example. Their client portfolio now exceeds 30,000 and they continually receive repeat business and outstanding customer service evaluations from their clients. These facts provide all the evidence needed that the ARUN proposition is much more than providing access points. They continue to work closely with all major mobile device providers, Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), Verizon (VZ), and many others in advancing the functionality of Wi-Fi capabilities. In addition the disclosure of ARUN receiving the highest quadrant in the recent Gartner ranking provides additional independent analysis of ARUN's industry leading product portfolio. They also appear to be leading the conversion to th

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Chris Hill]

  Notes from the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve were released early. The�Fed is thinking about ending its quantitative-easing policy this summer. The meeting was held before the release of weaker-than-expected jobs numbers. In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts discuss the investing�implications�for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) , and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) .

• [By Anders Bylund]

  What's missing?
  American readers might wonder whatever happened to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) . The consumer electronics leader embodies the very concept of brand presence on U.S. shores, after all. A global survey like the Havas report slants a bit differently.

• [By Associated Press]

  NEW YORK (AP) -- When Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) launched its iTunes music store a decade ago amid the ashes of Napster, the music industry -- reeling from the effects of online piracy -- was anxious to see how the new music service would shake out.

• [By Steve Heller]

  BlackBerry has confirmed that the Q10 will run users $249 on a two-year contract in the U.S. Clearly, BlackBerry believes it can get away with charging a 25% premium over the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S4, and other flagship Google�Android devices since the Q10 takes aim at deep-pocketed business customers, which can likely spare the expense.

10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own 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 Dan Caplinger]

  Lately, Johnson & Johnson has presented two different faces to investors. On one hand, the company has faced the challenge of dealing with a weak consumer-products business, as multiple recalls and close regulatory oversight of its production facilities have exacerbated J&J's problems. With its more focused consumer-goods business, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has worked harder at taking advantage of international growth opportunities than many of its rivals, and Colgate's strong overseas sales, in comparison to J&J's international weakness, show the effectiveness of that strategy. In particular, Asia has been a focus point for Colgate, with revenue from the region having risen 9% year over year compared with less than 3% growth overall. Moreover, Latin America represents Colgate's biggest region for sales, with more than half again the revenue its U.S. segment produces.

• [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 Dividend Growth Investor]

  In a previous article, I outlined that it is getting more difficult to find quality dividend paying stocks to buy. Most of the usual suspects like Kimberly-Clark (KMB) or Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are very overvalued today, which prevents me from adding to my positions there. Other companies like Chevron (CVX) are attractively valued today, but unfortunately my portfolio is overweight in them. Currently I find the oil sector to be cheap and have some of the lowest P/E ratios in the market. However, I would hate to be concentrated in one sector which is exposed to the fluctuating prices in its commodity products.