5 Most Owned Stocks by Hedge Funds

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1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 289

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the most favored stock among elite hedge funds. On July 12, Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst, had an optimistic outlook on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by maintaining an Outperform rating and set a price target of $375. Ives emphasized the significance of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) as a valuable asset for Microsoft, which he believes will greatly enhance its consumer franchise. This development is expected to have a broader impact on the tech industry, potentially paving the way for more acquisitions by technology companies, Ives wrote in a research note. 

According to Insider Monkey’s first quarter database, 289 hedge funds were bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), compared to 259 funds in the last quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 39.2 million shares worth $11.3 billion. 

L1 Capital International Fund made the following comment about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its first quarter 2023 investor letter:

“We commented in the December 2022 Quarterly Report “sentiment towards many high-quality technology and ecommerce related businesses like Amazon and Alphabet is negative. Capital flows and an over-emphasis on short-term challenges is driving share prices well below fair value, providing compelling investment opportunities for longer term investors”. In that report we outlined in detail why Amazon’s share price has been oversold and offered compelling value.

During the March 2023 quarter the share price of many large capitalization technology companies increased significantly. The Fund has investments in Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and their share prices increased 17%, 23% and 20% (in U.S. dollars), respectively. While we continue to see value in these privileged, high-quality businesses, share prices are no longer trading at materially oversold levels and we have selectively started to trim some of the Fund’s exposure. Microsoft was trimmed due to share price performance and position size.”

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