Below we present the list of 5 Stocks Billionaire Ken Fisher May Never Sell. For our methodology and a more comprehensive list of the billionaire investors favored long-term holdings, please see 10 Stocks Billionaire Ken Fisher May Never Sell.
5. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
Value of Fisher Investments’ 13F Position: $140 million
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 72
One of 5 Important Stocks That Are Losing Value in 2022, shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) have dipped by 11% year-to-date. That hasn’t fazed Fisher in the slightest, as he raised his stake in PG by 1% to 913,497 shares during Q1. Hedge fund ownership of PG peaked at the end of 2020 and has dipped by 14% since then.
Some of the same features that make The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) a great long-term investment also make it a strong stock in a recession. Many of the company’s products are household necessities that are needed regardless of economic conditions and levels of discretionary spending. P&G continued to grow a solid rate in Q1, boosted by its grooming, home care, and family care segment, which grew year-over-year organic sales by 10%.
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s overall net sales grew by 7% year-over-year to $19.4 billion. And though increasing prices are putting pressure on the company’s margins, they’re also set to drive EPS higher, with expectations that the company could top $6.00 in EPS in 2022. Even then, shares are somewhat expensive at greater than 20x forward earnings, which shows the premium investors are putting on the company right now amid a challenging economic backdrop.
4. Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN)
Value of Fisher Investments’ 13F Position: $466 million
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 9
Ken Fisher has also been a decades-long shareholder of Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN), which ranks as one of the 4 Best European Bank Stocks to Buy Now. During Q1, Fisher’s investment firm hiked its SAN stake by 7% to just under 138 million shares. Overall hedge fund ownership of SAN has been muted for years, with just eight other firms in our database being long the shares on March 31.
Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) grew its customer base by 2 million during the first quarter of the year, and by 7 million over the past 12 months. Its digital customer base is growing at an even faster percentage, with 5 million more digital customers being added since the first quarter of 2021, giving the Spanish financial services giant nearly 50 million digital customers in total. Its digital consumer bank grew lending by 17% during the quarter.
Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) is looking to expand its influence among a younger and more digital-savvy audience by recently announcing its sponsorship of the League of Legends European Championship and the Liga Latinoamérica. The European Championship averages an Average Minute Audience of over 470,000 viewers.
3. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Value of Fisher Investments’ 13F Position: $971 million
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 85
Fisher Investments grew its Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) holding by 4% during Q1, giving it more than 11.8 million shares of the vaccine maker and pharmaceutical giant. Hedge fund ownership of Merck tied an all-time high at the end of Q1, which had previously been reached twice in 2017. Jeffrey Talpins’ Element Capital Management built a new stake of 23,603 MRK shares during Q1.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares have gained 22% this year, with their latest surge coming on July 11 when reports emerged that the company was looking to acquire Seagen Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN) for more than $200 per share, with the deal possibly coming together by the end of July. The acquisition of Seagen would further bolster Merck’s strong oncology unit, though for that reason, the deal could also raise minor antitrust concerns.
The Carillon Clarivest International Stock Fund noted the impact of a recent Supreme Court ruling on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Merck (NYSE:MRK) is a global pharmaceutical and chemicals company based in Germany. Shares fell along with other vaccine-linked names after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a rule mandating that businesses with more than 100 employees require those employed to either be vaccinated or tested weekly.”
2. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
Value of Fisher Investments’ 13F Position: $1.07 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 56
Fisher trimmed his stake in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) ever so slightly in Q1, selling off 16,442 shares. The billionaire money manager still held over 6.58 million shares of the multinational energy giant in his firm’s 13F portfolio as of March 31. Billionaire investing legend Warren Buffett has owned CVX since late 2020 and bought another 121 million shares of the company in Q1. CVX shares have gained 16.5% in 2022.
Despite the YTD gains, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and other energy stocks have cooled off considerably over the past month alongside oil prices, with CVX shares losing 25% of their value since June 8. CEO Michael Wirth believes oil prices could rebound quickly however, noting that there is still the same level of tightness in the supply chain as there was when oil prices skyrocketed earlier this year. Should oil prices rebound, CVX shares will likely do the same in short order.
The Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund discussed some of the reasons behind Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)’s recent price increase in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
”Along with the spike in oil prices, energy stocks performed best during the quarter, followed by more defensive and countercyclical sectors like utilities and consumer staples. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) traded higher with global energy prices. The war in Ukraine prompted fears over a shortage in supply, resulting in higher commodity prices.”
1. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)
Value of Fisher Investments’ 13F Position: $1.08 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 69
Topping the list of stocks Ken Fisher may never sell is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). Fisher grew his firm’s stake in the medical device company by 5% during Q1 to over 9.11 million shares. Hedge fund ownership of ABT spiked during the final quarter of 2017 and has remained relatively stable in the years since.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) is a powerhouse dividend stock, recently achieving the coveted dividend king title in recognition of having raised its dividend payouts every year for the past 50 consecutive years. The company hasn’t missed a quarterly dividend payment in over 100 years. ABT shares currently yield 1.78%.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s diagnostics sales received a huge boost from Covid-19, hitting $5.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, a figure which will be hard to make up for in the near-term should Covid testing shrink. The company does have a well-diversified stream of revenue however, which includes a growing nutrition segment and a strong medical devices unit which just received FDA approval for its expensive glucose monitoring system Freestyle Libre 3.
For more of the latest stock picks worth considering for your portfolio, check out 10 Dividend Stocks with Over 7% Yield and 10 Micro-Cap Stocks To Buy According To Cathie Wood.
Disclosure: None.
