Top 5 Large-Cap Stocks for July 1

TSC Ratings TheStreet.com Ratings provides exclusive stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations using proprietary tools. Our "safety-first" approach aims to reduce risk while achieving performance on a total return basis.

Each business day, we compile a list of the top five stocks in five categories -- fast-growth, all-around value, large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap.

Today, large-cap stocks are in the spotlight. These companies have market caps over $10 billion and receive "buy"-ratings from our proprietary quantitative model, which considers more than 60 factors. The stocks are ordered by their potential to appreciate.

McDonald's (MCD) franchises and operates McDonald's restaurants worldwide, offering various food items, soft drinks, coffee and other beverages. We have rated McDonald's buy since June 2007.

The company's fiscal first quarter revenue declined 10% to $5.07 billion, but net income increased marginally to $980 million, and EPS jumped 7% to 87 cents as net margin remained strong at 20%. However, a 32% decline in the cash balance to $1.98 billion is a weakness. But a quick ratio of 1.3 and a debt-to-equity ratio of .82 indicate a conservative financial position.

Shares of McDonald's have declined 8% in 2009, underperforming the Dow and S&P 500. But over a one-year period McDonald's is up 2% while the Dow has dropped 26% and the S&P 500 has fallen 28%. At its current share price, the stock offers a dividend yield of 3.48%, which is higher than S&P 500 average of 3.2%.

Medco Health Solutions (MHS) is one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers, providing sophisticated traditional and specialty benefit programs. We have rated Medco buy since December 2008.

The company's fiscal first quarter revenue ascended 14% year over year to $14.8 billion, which beat the industry average growth rate of 1.1%. Net income increased 8% to $291 million as EPS improved 16% to 58 cents. Net operating cash flow increased 607%, and the company has added $1.25 billion to the cash balance since the prior year's first quarter.

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