The 10 Safest Blue-Chip Stocks to Own in 2020

As we enter the new year investors are turning their thoughts to the best possible investments to make. Blue-chip stocks are an option that does offer a certain degree of safety as the most tried and true companies offering shares for sale. They offer the peace of mind that gives the more conservative investor a greater level of confidence, although growth is not generally as high as in some of the more risky and aggressive market potentials. If you’re looking for the safest blue-chip stock options for 2020, here are the 10 most highly recommended by analysts for your consideration.

10. Berkshire Hathaway

Ticker symbol: BRK.B, BRK.A

Berkshire Hathaway is a unicorn in every sense of the word. Warren Buffet’s direction has set the financial institution on firm ground with no peers that come close. It’s a diversified holding company that owns an empire of insurance companies including Geico, General Re, and others. They expanded into Occidental Petroleum which is also a publicly-traded company under the ticker symbol OXY for $10 billion and they still have an extra $128 billion in reserve for future investments.

9. AbbVie

Ticker symbol: ABBV

AbbVie is a drug manufacturing company that sells the most popular and best-selling drug in the world that is called Humira. This is one of the most highly recommended blue-chip stocks on the market when it comes to safety. ABBV is using cheap funding to acquire Allergan, the company that produces Botox in their endeavors to expand and diversify. The company is undervalued going into 2020 and comes recommended as one of the best blue-chip stock investments of the year for 2020 by U.S. News.

8. Alibaba Group Holding

Ticker symbol: BABA

Alibaba is a Chinese based e-commerce giant that has reached a pinnacle at half-a-trillion dollars and it is still continuing to grow. In the short time that the company has been in existence, it has gained respect for its capacity for long-term staying throughout the world. Despite ups and downs in the market and trading speculations, it’s on solid footing with a sunny outlook for remaining a safe and stable bet for investors.

7. Johnson & Johnson

Ticker symbol: JNJ

Johnson & Johnson has been around for several decades and the pharmaceutical giant is about as stable as it gets within this industry. It’s considered to be one of the best blue-chip stocks on the market for 2020. With a highly predictable pattern of performance, the health care and consumer product supplier produces goods that are necessities with a brand name that has become a household name. They’ve diversified their portfolio of products and have entered the immunotherapy drug market with their popular Stelara, Darzalex, Imbruvica, and more in the pipeline.

6. Visa

Ticker symbol: V

Visa is a popular blue-chip stock choice with hedge funds. The financial giant has grown to become the largest payments network on teh planet and they are well-positioned to take full advantage of digital mobile payments and their cashless transactions. The current market value of Visa is $411.4 billion with a dividend yield of 0.6% with the majority of analysts citing it as a strong buy.

5. Facebook

Ticker symbol: FB

Facebook has a market value of $553.6 billion with the majority of analysts calling it a strong buy in the blue-chip stock category. The company has done well in holding up against the criticisms and attempts at regulations, but hedge fund investors still find it to be an attractive and safe investment. It is the largest social network in the world and stock is up an impressive 48 percent year to date. The digital advertising venture that FB has entered into serving an estimated 2.4 users on a monthly basis throughout the world. Combine this with FB’s WhatsApp adn Messenger mobile instant-messaging apps, and its ownership of the virtual reality company Oculus, it’s a healthy company that is still on the move and growing. In addition to this, ad revenues have also shown growth for FB. Growth over the next three to five years is predicted to reach four to six percent.

4. Cisco Systems

Ticker symbol: CSCO

Cisco Systems is listed on the NASDAQ exchange and over the past several years, the services of this company have continually expanded and diversified. Cisco has announced its new Artificial Intelligence system of a conversational nature to its interfaces. Cisco is also in the process of making upgrades to its 5G which makes it an interesting blue-chip stock to at least watch, if not invest in.

3. Merck

Ticker symbol: MRK

Merck is a biotech and pharmaceutical company that has made huge advances in the development of medications for the treatment of cancer. One of its leading drugs is Keytruda which as become the number one choice for several types of lung cancers with high growth rates. Revenues are solid for the biotech company and there is no indication that this will change anytime in the near future.

2. American Express

Ticker symbol: AXP

American Express, also known as Amex, has turned its focus to the higher-end sector of the credit spectrum. This comes close to eliminating uncertainty surrounding loan default rates among its clientele. This has turned out to be a good move as the company is moving forward serving more reliable consumers.

1. Genuine Parts Company

Ticker symbol GPC

This company has been in business for over six decades. The company has consistently raised its dividend for investors for sixty-three years consecutively and counting. The company is massive in size and it serves an industry flying under the NAPA banner. It’s the largest auto parts network for industrial distribution in the United States with over 9,250 locations open and doing business. Although they do have an online presence, GPC specializes in supplying parts that can be picked up at a store location immediately, or ordered for fast pickup.