In this article, we will take a look at the 5 recession-proof stocks billionaires are loading up on. To see more such companies, go directly to 10 Recession-Proof Stocks Billionaires Are Loading Up On.
5. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Billionaire Investors: 20
Payments giant Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is yet another stock that pays dividends as well as presents opportunities for stock price appreciation. Last month Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, unchanged from the previous dividend. The dividend is payable on August 9 for shareholders of record as of July 7.
Insider Monkey’s database of billionaires shows 20 elite billionaire hedge fund managers were piled into Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) as of the end of the March quarter. Warren Buffett, Andreas Halvorsen and DE Shaw were among Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)’s top shareholders.
Akre Focus Fund made the following comment about Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:
“The Fund owns many businesses that stand to benefit enormously from A.I. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) and Visa have long used artificial intelligence to gather and utilize insights from their massive troves of data to improve the safety and security of their networks. The top five positive contributors to performance during the quarter were Moody’s, Mastercard, CoStar, Constellation Software, and Adobe.”
4. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)
Number of Billionaire Investors: 20
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is one of the safest stocks to own during recessions and market downturns amid its dividends as well as its strong fundamentals and recession-proof business model. Perhaps that’s why hedge funds upped their bets on Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the first quarter. Insider Monkey’s database of 943 hedge funds shows that 91 funds had stakes in the company as of the end of the first quarter, significantly up from 66 hedge funds in the previous quarter. This shows a major jump in hedge fund sentiment for the Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) stock. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares are up about 7.97% year to date through July 13.
3. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Billionaire Investors: 24
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) shares have gained about 13% year to date. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is also a strong dividend payer. In April Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) posted fiscal Q2 results. Visa’s EPS and revenue beat analyst estimates.
Insider Monkey’s database of billionaire-owned stocks shows that 24 billionaire-led hedge funds had stakes in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Some of the notable billionaires with stakes in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) are Chris Hohn, Rajiv Jain, Warren Buffett and Andreas Halvorsen.
Overall, 173 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V).
Manole Capital Management made the following comment about Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its second quarter 2023 investor letter:
“We like to start out all of our discussions by telling investors who we are. We are FINTECH investors, and we define Fintech as “anything utilizing technology to improve an established process.” We realize that half of Fintech is financial, but we don’t invest in traditional, credit sensitive banks. Having managed money during the Financial Crisis, we learned firsthand how certain opaque and balance sheet intensive financials could go bankrupt or insolvent.
We prefer transaction-based businesses, generating recurring revenue, with sustainable margins, and significant cash flow. From our perspective, the perfect example of a FINTECH business is the secularly growing payments industry. Names like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) or Mastercard, that generate revenue and profit per swipe or transaction, without the underlying credit sensitivity or risk associated with that underlying line of credit.”
2. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Billionaire Investors: 25
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) is one of the biggest managed healthcare and insurance companies. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) also pays regular dividends. Healthcare sector is considered recession-proof and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)’s dominance in the sector and strong fundamentals make it one of the favorite stocks of billionaires during troubled times.
Insider Monkey’s data of billionaires shows that 25 billionaires had stakes in UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) as of the end of the first quarter. Some of the notable billionaires having stakes in UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) during this period was Rajiv Jain, Andreas Halvorsen, Cliff Asness and DE Shaw.
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy made the following comment about UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its first quarter 2023 investor letter:
“The tech-dominated quarter was a headwind for both defensive and cyclical sectors, with shares of health care holdings such as UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), Elevance (ELV) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) declining after a strong 2022.”
1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Billionaire Investors: 33
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the top recession-proof stocks. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has already gained about 40% year to date. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s lead in the AI race, its Cloud computing business expansion and enterprise software dominance make it one of the safest stocks to invest in. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is also the most popular stock among the elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, 289 hedge funds had stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). One of the biggest stakeholders of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during this period was TCI Fund Management of Chris Hohn with a $4.4 billion stake.
You can also take a peek at 12 Best NASDAQ Stocks Under $20 and 10 Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks Under $10.
