This old-school leader in semiconductors continues to work hard to focus more on Internet of Things and data center cloud spending, and it is one of the top picks at Merrill Lynch for 2020. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) designs, manufactures and sells integrated digital technology platforms worldwide.

The company’s platforms are used in various computing applications, comprising notebooks, two-in-one systems, desktops, servers, tablets, smartphones, wireless and wired connectivity products, wearables, retail devices and manufacturing devices, as well as for retail, transportation, industrial, buildings, home use and other market segments.

Intel offers investors a solid 2.25% dividend, while the shares trade at 13.4 times trailing 12-month earnings. The $70 Merrill Lynch price target is well above the $54.45 consensus price objective. The shares closed most recently at $57.55.

Microsoft

This top old-school technology stock saw posted all-time highs this year, and the company has a massive $133.8 billion sitting on the balance sheet. Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to find an increasing amount of support from portfolio managers, who have added the software giant to their holdings at an increasingly faster pace so far this year and all of last.

Many Wall Street analysts feel 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. Some have flagged Azure as a solid rival to Amazon’s AWS service, while others 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 the second-quarter earnings report, which was outstanding.

Shareholders receive a 1.5% dividend. Merrill Lynch has set its price target at $162. The consensus price objective is $156.77, and the shares closed most recently at $153.24.

Texas Instruments

This old-school chip tech company offers solid value at current levels and is a great pick for more conservative investors. Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is a broad-based supplier of semiconductor components, ranging from digital signal processors to high-performance analog components, to digital light-processing technology and calculators.

Some 65% of the company’s sales are exposed to the well-diversified, business-to-business industrial, automotive, communications infrastructure and enterprise markets. While the stock was hit hard recently as it is a big Apple supplier, the long-term outlook for this venerable leader makes it a safer bet for accounts with less risk tolerance.

The stock was crushed after posting solid third-quarter results, but guidance surprised Wall Street. The backup in the share price still offers long-term investors the best entry point since the summer.

Investors in Texas Instruments receive a 2.85% dividend. The Merrill Lynch price target is $140. The $126.07 consensus target is below the most recent close of $126.07 a share.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

While some of these companies have had a stellar year, they haven’t seen some of the huge runs that other technology stocks have had. Trading at reasonable valuations, and with most paying dependable dividends, they are solid picks after a huge run in all the major market indexes.