In this article, we will take a look at the 5 best American stocks to buy now. If you wish to see our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 11 Best American Stocks To Buy Now.
5. PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 143
Multinational financial services company PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) engages in the provision of online payment systems in a number of countries across the globe.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 143 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $16.3 billion in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL). The number of hedge funds with stakes in the company remained unchanged for the first and second quarter.
Of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Alexander Becker’s Codex Capital is a leading shareholder of PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), with 32,900 shares worth $9.59 billion.
On October 20, Keefe Bruyette analyst Sanjay Sakhrani maintained an Outperform rating on PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), alongside a $340 price target on its shares.
Qualivian Investment Partners mentioned PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) in their Q2 2021 investor letter and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund had to say:
“PayPal: The company reported a slightly disappointing quarter with revenues growing 19%, missing on the average revenue per transaction due to the accelerated decline in eBay transactions, the higher mix of Braintree transactions, and other impacts from hedging and F/X translations. Given the stock’s significant outperformance in 2020 and heightened expectations coming into the quarter, the stock has been consolidating since the earnings report. Long term we remain bullish on PayPal, given the company’s continued growth in eCommerce end markets, as well as the continued share gains of digital payments/wallets over paper payments.”
4. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) operates as a multinational financial services company that engages in the provision of transaction processing and other payment-related products and services.
On October 28, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) released its quarterly earnings report for the third quarter of 2021, with reported earnings per share at $2.37, beating estimates by $0.18. The company also reported revenues of $4.99 billion, an increase of 29.92% on a year-over-year basis, beating forecast estimates by $35.79 million.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is one of the biggest stakeholders of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) as of the end of the second quarter, according to the data tracked by Insider Monkey. Overall, 156 funds were bullish on Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by the end of the June quarter, compared to 154 in the preceding quarter.
On October 28, Raymond James analyst John Davis announced being bullish on MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), and kept a $430 price target alongside an Outperform rating on the shares.
Qualivian Investment Partners, in its Q2 2021 investor letter, mentioned Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). Here is what the firm has to say about the company:
“Mastercard: Q2 revenue and EPS beat consensus estimates by 3.7% and 12% respectively. Operating margins also beat consensus by +240 bps. Gross domestic volume growth of +38.3% (+32.8% in constant currency) was buttressed by continued e-commerce strength and better in-store performance, while purchase volumes grew 41.8% (35.5% in constant currency). Cross border performance was strong, but durability remains uncertain given uncertainty arising from the Delta variant and its impact on travel and tourism. We believe Mastercard has a robust runway for growth given further travel recovery, new/existing partnerships, traction in digital payments, and ongoing economic recovery.”
3. Visa, Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 162
The most famous payments stock according to the number of hedge funds, Visa, Inc. (NYSE:V) is a California-based multinational financial services company engaged in the provision of electronic funds transfer across a vast number of countries around the world.
According to the company’s quarterly earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2021 released on October 26, with earnings per share at $1.62, beating forecast estimates by $0.08. The company also reported a revenue of $6.56 billion, an increase of 28.58% on a year-over-year basis, surpassing predicted revenues by $45.89 million.
Of the 873 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 162 were long Visa, Inc. (NYSE:V) at the end of June, compared to 164 in the first quarter of 2021. Alexander Becker of Codex Capital is the leading stakeholder of the company.
On October 28, Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette kept an Overweight rating and $280 price target on Visa, Inc. (NYSE:V) shares.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“To make room for these new names with more attractive outlooks related to the reopening, we sold out of companies where the thesis is not playing out at the pace we expected including Visa.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 238
Washington-based Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the world’s leading multinational tech giants. The firm operates as a diversified technology company, marketing its Windows software products which account for almost 80% of the market share as of September of 2021.
On October 20, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintained an Outperform rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), alongside a price target of $375 on its shares.
By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 238 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), worth roughly $62.46 billion, compared to 251 hedge funds in the previous quarter, with stakes worth approximately $58.9 billion.
Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Robert Koehn’s Ivy Lane Capital is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 86,000 shares worth more than $23.29 billion.
As of the fiscal first quarter of 2022, Microsoft Corporation had an actual EPS of $2.27, crossing estimates by $0.19. The revenue for the quarter came in at $45.32 billion, surpassing the forecast predictions by $1.33 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Polen Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We have written extensively about Microsoft in recent commentaries. It was our leading contributor last year and one of our largest weightings within the Portfolio. It continues to experience business momentum through several dominant, essential, and competitively advantaged businesses, like Office 365 and Azure. The markets it competes for are enormous, which gives the company the ability to compound at scale. In the past quarter alone, the company generated over $40 billion in revenue, representing a 17% growth rate. The inherent operating leverage in Microsoft’s business model continues and led to 34% earnings growth this past quarter. Despite the broad rotation we saw in the first quarter and Microsoft’s robust performance in 2020, we think its business fundamentals continue to exhibit strength, and the stock continues to reflect the fundamentals.”
1. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 266
Coming in at first on our list of the 11 best American stocks to buy now, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is a California-based social media technology company. Formerly known as Facebook, the tech titan has branched out to add e-commerce, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence among its business sectors.
In the third quarter of 2021, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) reported an EPS of $3.22, beating the estimated EPS by $0.04. The company’s reported revenues for the quarter amounted to $29.01 billion, an increase of 35.12% on a year-over-year basis.
On October 28, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintained a Neutral rating on the shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) with a $385 price target, noting that the company’s name change from Facebook to Meta is a ‘significant’ move.
As of the end of the second quarter, 266 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). The total worth of these stakes is $42.3 billion. This shows the hedge fund sentiment is positive for the social media company as 257 funds had stakes in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) in the previous quarter, having a total worth of $40.9 billion.
First Eagle Investment Management, an investment management firm, mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Leading contributors in the First Eagle Global Fund this quarter included Facebook, Inc. Class A. Facebook has continued to post impressive results for both revenue and active users of its traditional platforms. In the meantime, the social media giant continues to make progress on new initiatives—like Facebook Horizon (virtual reality) and Facebook Shops (e-commerce)—and maintains attractive monetization optionality around services like Messenger and WhatsApp.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Cheap Dividend Kings with Over 2% Yield and 12 Best Semiconductor Stocks To Invest In Right Now.
