In this article, we will take a look at the 5 best stocks to buy now according to billionaire Chris Hohn. To see more such companies, go directly to 10 Best Stocks To Buy Now According To Billionaire Chris Hohn.
5. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 177
Billionaire Chris Hohn is a notable stakeholder of payments giant Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), as his hedge fund ended the fourth quarter with over $4.1 billion stake in the company. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) accounts for about 13.83% of the hedge fund’s total portfolio.
Baron FinTech Fund made the following comment about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Shares of global payment network Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) increased after reporting strong quarterly results, with 19% growth in revenue and EPS despite currency headwinds and the suspension of operations in Russia. Payment volume grew 16% in local currency (excluding Russia and China) with notable strength in cross-border volumes driven by rebounding international travel. Management also provided encouraging guidance for the next fiscal year. We continue to own the stock due to Visa’s long runway for growth and significant competitive advantages.”
4. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49
TCI Fund Management owns a $4.16 billion stake in Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP), as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.
In February, the global equity team at BofA said in a note that while the broader market will be down in 2023, there are several opportunities for investors. The firm gave bullish comments on several stocks, including Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP).
3. Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Chris Hohn has been holding a significant stake in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) since the last quarter of 2019. The billionaire’s hedge fund had gradually upped its hold in Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI). At the end of the last quarter of 2022, TCI Fund Management reported owning 37 million shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI). The net worth of these shares was about $4.36 billion. Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI) accounts for about 14.56% of the fund’s portfolio.
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 152
Chris Hohn’s hedge fund owns a $4.8 billion stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. Over the past one year Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares have lost about 25%. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is under pressure amid AI threats posed by competitors and challenges in the advertising market.
Artisan Value Fund made the following comment about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Our biggest detractors in Q4 included communication services sector holdings Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). For Alphabet, Google’s parent company, growth has decelerated as advertisers have pulled back on digital ad spend following a COVID-driven acceleration as well as due to economic uncertainties. Longer term, Alphabet remains well positioned to win in multiple ways, whether in search, online video or in the cloud. We continue to see large profit pools for Alphabet in the early stages of monetization, along with the migration of advertising dollars away from traditional mediums, like TV, to online search and video. These factors give us confidence Alphabet continues to have a long runway to grow revenue and profits. Additionally, management has returned capital to shareholders— another lever that can be used to increase the per share value of the business. We view Alphabet as one of the best businesses in the world, capable of expanding revenues at an above-average rate for years to come, with a bulletproof balance sheet and an average asking price. It’s a name we’ve held since 2015, and we believe Alphabet will continue to be a strong compounder of value in the future.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) tops the list of the best stocks to buy according to billionaire Chris Hohn. The billionaire’s hedge fund owns about 22.2 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as of the end of the last quarter of 2022. The total worth of these shares at the end of December was $5.34 billion.
Baron Opportunity Fund made the following comment about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Shares of mega-cap software company Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) outperformed despite a mixed fiscal first quarter due to macro challenges that negatively impacted results and guidance, including foreign exchange headwinds, weakening PC demand, and a cyclical slowdown in advertising spending. Total revenue beat Street expectations at 16% constant-currency growth (vs. estimates of 14%), but its Azure cloud computing business missed analyst projections by 1% for the second straight quarter, though it still grew a robust 42% year-over-year, as Microsoft helped its customers optimize existing workloads due to the macro backdrop. While the optimization of workloads is a short-term headwind, we believe it is the right thing to do and should help drive more consumption with customers over time. Our research continues to indicate that the longer-term secular trend of cloud computing remains healthy and intact. For example, in its fourth quarter CIO survey report, Morgan Stanley showed, among other things, that cloud computing was the second highest CIO spending priority (behind only security software), that cloud application workloads were expected to increase from 27% of total workloads today to 46% by the end of 2025, and that Azure was listed as the preferred cloud vendor and likely to take share over the short and long term.9 Additionally, Microsoft is positioned to be a prime beneficiary of ChatGPT. Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2020 and is rumored to be considering investing an additional $10 billion for a 49% stake in the company. Moreover, ChatGPT runs on Microsoft’s Azure platform, and Microsoft recently announced the general availability of its Azure OpenAI Service enabling Azure customers to access advanced AI models, including ChatGPT itself soon. We remain bullish on Microsoft’s long-term opportunity in the cloud, and believe AI has the potential to be additive to growth for years to come.”
You can also take a peek at 15 Best Short-Term Stocks to Buy and 10 Best Stocks to Buy for High Returns.
