Microsoft Corp (MSFT)

On the surface, this looks pretty good. Dividend is safe and solid and probably will grow. Becoming more and more like a utility, and part of that is that they have tremendous products but not a lot in the way of innovative new products. He prefers others such as Apple (AAPL-Q) and Google (GOOG-Q).

(Top Pick Jun 28/12, Up 18.07%) Really likes it because he thinks businesses and enterprises have missed so many upgrades. Windows is transformational for them. Used to be 40 times earnings but now he thinks it has room to grow. 9 times earnings now. Thinks there will be a significant upgrade in businesses.

There is some upside and his target is fairly aggressive. He would be a buyer much lower. A resilient business. Still positive catalysts.

There is more room, but it is up 31% year to date. They continue to build out the portfolio. It is not just about windows any more. Thinks they can regain their footing, but with the run he would wait for it to pull back to the $31 range.

(A Top Pick May 18/12. Up 23.9%.) Thinks this is now at the top of its range even though the model price is at $51.13. He still owns a little. 2.6% yield. From a 5 to 8 year period, you are going to make compound growth at probably high to double digit on any name.

(Market call minute.) Likes this. Thinks people are underestimating the value of this company. Great products.

Tech has underperformed this year. But in the last few weeks it has shown improvement. Strong balance sheet and willingness to return capital. 2.8% dividend. 11 times earnings. 30% payout. It is being bought for the dividend.

If you go back 10 or 12 years you have seen profits triple but multiple has dropped 2/3rds because it is not seen as a growth story.

Looks like it is trying again to get a head of steam up. Use a trailing stop behind it 7-10%.

Thinks the stock is roughly worth $40 a share. This is a free cash flow machine. Has a huge business selling software to businesses. Even if the PC disappeared, which is not going to happen, they would still have a very valuable franchise.

(Top Pick Apr 17/12, Up 4.27%) Still likes it. A cheap company with good dividend. People think of it as a retail company but they are an enterprise company. Thinks it has a lot of upside.

Transitioning from a growth story into a slow, steady, moderate growth story so you will get a transition of shareholders. Really hasn’t done much since 2000. It has introduced a dividend and has tons and tons of cash. If they can get a real strong foothold in the broader home office through PlayStation and the home networking market could be a big win. The monopoly on the desktop is working but where do they go from here. Going to be dead money for quite a few years.

The PC overhang is a bit more than you want to be exposed to at this point. 60% of business attributed to PCs. They are doing a good job on the server side of the business however.

Suspects they will miss. Expects they will pull back. Not a huge downside risk but some correction risk and he would want to see what happens before going in. Not a huge growth story.

(A Top Pick March 21/12. Down 7.85%.) Their business is doing very well. Thinks that Pro will do very, very well. Have a lot of great products. Just takes a little bit of time. Great dividend and great balance sheet. Feels the stock is worth $35-$40 and you’re getting paid to hold the stock.