IBM
This blue chip giant offers investors an incredibly solid entry point, a massive dividend and a degree of safety for investors who are more conservative. 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.
IBM’s second-quarter revenue of $15.5 billion was up sharply from a year ago and topped the consensus forecast. Profits also were ahead of analysts’ expectations.
Shareholders receive a 5.60% dividend. IBM stock has a $155 price target at BofA Securities. That is well above the $141.56 consensus target and Thursday’s closing print of $121.79, which was up close to 4% on the day.
Juniper Networks
This is another familiar name that could offer among the best 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-ofack data center switches; and Juniper access points, which provide wireless access and performance.
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.
Juniper Networks stock comes with a 3.25% dividend. Wells Fargo’s $32 price target is shy of the $32.71 consensus target. The shares closed at $26.32 on Thursday.
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