INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $197 - New York symbol IBM

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $197 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $216.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) continues to enjoy strong demand for its software, as it helps businesses analyze large amounts of data and improve their efficiency. That’s helping IBM offset slow sales of its mainframe computers.

IBM is a buy.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $39 (Nasdaq symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $42.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ti.com) plans to stop making chips for cellphones due to intense competition from larger chipmakers. Instead, it is shifting to analog chips, which convert sounds and temperatures into digital signals that computers can understand. While not as profitable, sales of analog chips are much less volatile than wireless chips.

Texas Instruments is a buy.

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