[cnxvideo id=”625451″ placement=”ros”]As the market rips toward new all-time highs after months of going sideways, many investors are concerned about what to do now. Is it time to sell? Typically June is generally a worse month for stocks than May, yet we have seen a big increase. One solid idea for growth accounts is to have a solid position in technology. The group has sputtered much of the year and could hold better value than other sectors.
One of the firms we cover here at 24/7 Wall St. is UBS. The firm is overweight on the technology sector and has 10 stocks that fall in its most preferred category. We picked four that appear among the safest choices with the highest dividends.
Accenture
This company was hit hard during the beginning of the year sell-off, but has roared back since. Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. It combines unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions, underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network.
Accenture is a leader in IT services and should deliver solid and consistent earnings growth over the next few years as it is well positioned to benefit from solid global IT spending trends and the migration of corporate and government IT infrastructure to the cloud.
The company announced last year it was launching five advanced analytics applications for the resources industries, which include utilities, oil and gas, chemicals and metals and mining companies, to enable insight-driven decision making for improved business outcomes. The new analytics applications are designed to support pricing, risk management, energy trading, credit collection and workforce planning decisions.
Accenture shareholders are paid a solid 1.85% dividend. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is $120.06. The stock closed most recently at $119.32 per share.
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Cisco
This is one of the top mega-cap technology stock picks on Wall Street. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) designs, manufactures and sells Internet Protocol (IP) based networking products and services related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. It provides switching products, including fixed-configuration and modular switches, and storage products that provide connectivity to end users, workstations, IP phones, wireless access points and servers, as well as next-generation network routing products that interconnect public and private wireline and mobile networks for mobile, data, voice and video applications.
Cisco offers service provider video infrastructure, including set-top boxes, cable/telecommunications access products, and cable modems, as well as video software and solutions. In addition, it provides collaboration products comprising unified communications products, conferencing products, telepresence systems and enterprise mobile messaging products; data center products, such as blade, rack and modular servers, fabric interconnects, software and server access virtualization solutions; security products, including network and data center security, advanced threat protection, web and email security, access and policy, unified threat management, and advisory, integration, and managed services; and other products, such as emerging technologies and other networking products.
The company posted outstanding earnings back in February, and is scheduled to report this quarter on May 18. Many on Wall Street have raised their price targets for the networking giant significantly. Cisco is also one of the 24/7 Wall St. top 10 stocks to own for the next decade.
Analysts across Wall Street point to an estimated double-digit bookings momentum for Cisco’s Meraki Cloud Services. Many think that Meraki is likely to be a $1 billion plus run-rate business this year, with an incredible 50% to 70% compounded annual growth rate. A jump from 40 GE to 100 GE data center switching and next generation security are also adding to the total sales profile and product mix.
Cisco investors are paid a very solid 3.6% dividend. The consensus price target is set at $30.86. The shares closed most recently at $29.14.
Intel
This leader in semiconductors is working hard to scale away from dependence on personal computers. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) designs, manufactures and sells integrated digital technology platforms worldwide. The company’s platforms are used in various computing applications comprising notebooks, two-in-one systems, desktops, servers, tablets, smartphones, wireless and wired connectivity products, wearables, retail devices and manufacturing devices, as well as for retail, transportation, industrial, buildings, home use and other market segments.
The company also provides communication and connectivity offerings, such as baseband processors, radio frequency transceivers and power management integrated circuits, and tablet, phone and Internet of Things solutions, which include multimode 4G LTE modems, Bluetooth technology and GPS receivers, software solutions and interoperability tests, as well as home gateway and set-top box components.
Intel reported an inline first quarter, and lowered the forward outlook. Merrill Lynch stays positive on the company and believes there is solid upside potential for the stock. Some analysts think the restructuring can ultimately translate to 0.23 in annual earnings-per-share savings.
Intel investors are paid a very solid 3.26% dividend. Analysts have a consensus price objective of $35.49. Shares closed on Wednesday at $31.89.
TE Connectivity
This stock is a big player in automotive technology. TE Connectivity Ltd. (NYSE: TEL) designs and manufactures products at the heart of electronic connections for the world’s leading industries including not only automotive but energy and industrial, broadband communications, consumer devices, health care and aerospace and defense. TE has a long-standing commitment to innovation and engineering excellence, which helps its customers solve the need for more energy efficiency, always-on communications and ever-increasing productivity demands.
Many on Wall Street are bullish on the stock due to the increasing electronic content in automotive, industrial, consumer and defense industries. Analysts cite the stock’s very reasonable valuation and the high growth auto sensor business helping to ramp up sales and earnings.
TE investors are paid a solid 2.38% dividend. The consensus price target is $69, and the stock closed Wednesday at $62.47.
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These four outstanding most preferred tech stocks also pay dividends. That makes sense for investors wanting to stay long the stock market but to be somewhat hedged against a summer decline.
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