It had been almost 15 years since we had seen the kind of selling and overall disruption in the technology sector we witnessed in 2022. For many investors who were long the biggest names, it was a disaster. Most of the mega-cap technology giants have announced massive layoffs, with Amazon and Google joining the fray recently, announcing they will be giving the pink slip to as many as 30,000 employees combined. Altogether, mega-cap tech companies have laid off a stunning 150,000 employees over the past few months, and more could be on the way.
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While it is tough for those shown the door, many analysts across Wall Street like the thinning of the employee herd, even though it can have immense costs initially. Financial discipline ultimately will lead to better numbers. If they are anything like what Meta Platforms posted earlier this week (and despite the mixed results from Alphabet, Amazon and Apple after the close), an old-fashioned tech rally still could be in store.

We screened our 24/7 Wall St. technology research universe looking for quality stocks with products and services that are still in demand and, most importantly, will remain in demand for years to come. Then we looked for Buy-rated stocks with consistent and dependable dividends. The following seven top stocks made the cut, and all make sense for investors with a long-term horizon. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Broadcom

This stock has seen a solid move higher, and though it remains most suitable for investors who are more aggressive, Wall Street continues to like the dividend growth. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) has an extensive semiconductor product portfolio that addresses applications within the wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage and industrial end markets.

Applications for Broadcom’s products in its end markets include data center networking, home connectivity, broadband access, telecommunications equipment, smartphones and base stations, servers and storage, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems and displays.

Top analysts and many on Wall Street are quite positive on the company’s massive $10 billion share repurchase authorization through December of 2023, which represents about 4.2% of the company’s market cap.

Broadcom stock investors receive a 3.05% dividend. BofA Securities has a $680 price target, while the consensus target is $655.64 and shares closed trading on Thursday at $605.77.

Investors who are more conservative may want to consider this mega-cap tech leader, which recently posted outstanding quarterly results. 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.
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Cisco 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.

Its cybersecurity products give clients the scope, scale and capabilities to keep up with the complexity and volume of threats. Putting security above everything helps corporations innovate while keeping their assets safe.

The networking giant posted grim numbers last year, and the stock has taken a big hit, but the juicy dividend will pay investors to wait for the turnaround. Its fiscal second-quarter report is scheduled for February 15.

Shareholders receive a 3.13% dividend. The Credit Suisse target price for Cisco Systems stock is $67. That is well above the $54.79 consensus target and Thursday’s close at $49.32.

Dell Technologies

This high-quality company pays a solid dividend and will report results in early March. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells and supports information technology (IT) hardware, software and services solutions worldwide. It operates through three segments.

Infrastructure Solutions Group provides traditional and next-generation storage solutions, and rack, blade, tower and hyperscale servers. It also offers networking products and services that help its business customers to transform and modernize their infrastructure, mobilize and enrich end-user experiences and accelerate business applications and processes. It also offers attached software and peripherals, as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

The Client Solutions Group offers desktops, notebooks and workstations; displays and projectors; attached and third-party software and peripherals; as well as support and deployment, configuration and extended warranty services.

The VMware segment supports customers in the areas of hybrid and multi-cloud, modern applications, networking, security and digital workspaces, helping customers to manage IT resources across private clouds and complex multi-cloud, multi-device environments.
Dell also provides information security and cloud software and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions that enable customers to migrate, run, and manage mission-critical applications in cloud-based IT environments.

Investors receive a 3.20% dividend. UBS has set a $60 price target, and Dell Technologies stock has a consensus target of $49.51. The stock closed nearly 3% higher on Thursday at $42.42.
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IBM

This blue chip giant still offers investors an incredibly solid entry point and a huge dividend. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) provides integrated solutions and services worldwide through these four business segments.

The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions, such as Red Hat, an enterprise open-source solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data and identity. This segment also provides transaction processing software that supports clients’ mission-critical and on-premise workloads in banking, airlines and retail industries.

The Consulting segment offers business transformation services, including strategy, business process design and operations, data and analytics, and system integration services; technology consulting services; and application and cloud platform services.

The Infrastructure segment provides on-premises and cloud-based server and storage solutions for its clients’ mission-critical and regulated workloads; and support services and solutions for hybrid cloud infrastructure, as well as remanufacturing and remarketing services for used equipment.

The Financing segment offers lease, installment payment, loan financing and short-term working capital financing services.

For the fourth quarter, IBM posted revenue of $60.5 billion, up 6% from a year ago and better than the consensus forecast. With a focus on artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud computing the legacy technology giant could be poised for strong growth going forward.

The dividend yield here is 4.91%. The $152 BofA Securities price target is higher than the $146.76 consensus target. On Thursday, IBM stock closed at $136.39.

Juniper Networks

This is another familiar name that could offer among the best in total return potential. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) designs, develops and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers various routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy new high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; and NorthStar controllers.
Juniper Networks also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine and top-of-rack data center switches; and Juniper access points, which provide wireless access and performance.
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In addition, the company offers security products including SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated firewall and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP.

The most recent earnings missed Wall Street estimates but revenue was up by double-digits year over year on solid cloud and enterprise business growth, which is expected to be sustained as supply chain issues continue to improve.

Juniper Networks stock comes with a 2.84% dividend. Needham’s $39 price target compares with a $35.85 consensus target and the most recent close at $31.45.

Microsoft

This is a more conservative way for investors to participate in the massive cloud growth, and the company posted stellar second-quarter results. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products. The company has transformed its business model from a component-driven model (PC, server) to one driven by the need for cloud capacity.

Many Wall Street analysts agree that Microsoft has become a clear number two in the public or hyper-scale cloud infrastructure market with Azure, which is the company’s cloud computing platform offering which continues growing at massive levels. Many have flagged Azure as the biggest rival to Amazon’s AWS service.

Some analysts maintain that Microsoft is discounting Azure for large enterprises, such that Azure may be cheaper than AWS for larger users. The cloud was big in recent earnings reports and will remain a growing part of the software giant’s earnings profile.

The big news for the company has been the investment and the expected deployment of ChatGPT, in which Microsoft is making a substantial investment. ChatGPT is the very popular chatbot from OpenAI that is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two short months after launch. It is the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS study.

Shareholders receive a 1.08% dividend. Microsoft stock has a $315 target price at Goldman Sachs. The consensus target is $283.73. The shares closed almost 5% higher to $264.60 on Thursday.

This stock has rolled over and is trading close to a 52-week low. Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) engages in the development and commercialization of foundational technologies for the wireless industry worldwide.
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The Qualcomm CDMA Technologies segment develops and supplies integrated circuits and system software based on 3G/4G/5G and other technologies for use in wireless voice and data communications, networking, application processing, multimedia and global positioning system products.

The Qualcomm Technology Licensing segment grants licenses or provides rights to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio, which include various patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products comprising products implementing CDMA2000, WCDMA, LTE and OFDMA-based 5G standards and their derivatives.

The Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives segment invests in early-stage companies in various industries (including 5G, artificial intelligence, automotive, consumer, enterprise, cloud and Internet of Things) and investment for supporting the design and introduction of new products and services for voice and data communications, new industries and applications. It also provides development and other services and related products to U.S. government agencies and their contractors.

Investors receive a 2.25% dividend. The BofA Securities price target is $150, but the consensus target is up at $171.35. After the company reported mixed quarterly results, Qualcomm stock closed 2% lower on Thursday at $135.85.

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These seven top companies have been around for decades and have survived past tech selloffs. Each has a strong product or services portfolio, and all will still be around when the damage from last year is well in the rearview mirror. However, they will not be around at today’s prices.

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