In this article, we discuss the top 5 stock picks of George Soros. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the Top 10 Stock Picks of George Soros.
5. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is a diversified technology company with core interests in the advertising business. The hedge fund of George Soros entered the fourth quarter of 2021 with 59,482 shares of the company in the portfolio worth more than $159 million.
Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth recently reiterated a Strong Buy rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock and raised the price target to $3,540 from $3,185, noting that the firm was driving greater functionality through a focus on artificial intelligence.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 2.9 million shares worth more than $7.8 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Large-cap tech companies have been resilient through the pandemic—Alphabet among them. A top contributor, Alphabet’s Play Store and Google Cloud are in demand as businesses accelerate online activity which, along with strong YouTube user growth, is helping stabilize temporarily weaker search ad revenue trends. Through the lens of our disciplined bottom-up research process, we view Alphabet as one of the best businesses in the world, capable of expanding revenues at a rapid rate for years to come, with a bullet proof balance sheet and an average asking price. It’s a name we’ve owned since 2012 and for which we continue to have high hopes regarding future prospects.”
4. IHS Markit Ltd. (NYSE:INFO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64
IHS Markit Ltd. (NYSE:INFO) provides business analytics and related solutions. Soros Fund Management, as of the end of September, had over 2.4 million shares of the company worth $284 million in the portfolio.
In November, the US Department of Justice granted IHS Markit Ltd. (NYSE:INFO) approval to merge with market research firm S&P Global in a deal worth $44 billion. The deal is now awaiting regulatory approval from authorities in the United Kingdom.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 64 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $6.7 billion in IHS Markit Ltd. (NYSE:INFO), up from 61 in the previous quarter worth $5.9 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and IHS Markit Ltd. (NYSE:INFO) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We ended our campaign in IHS Markit. IHS Markit is a global provider of information services to the financial services, automotive and energy sectors. Since beginning our investment campaign in 2009, we have been attracted to the company’s position relative to the meaningful secular tailwind driving demand for data and analytics to help guide business decisions. The company announced in Q4 it is merging with S&P Global, one of the largest credit ratings agencies globally and a provider of benchmarks, data and analytics to the global capital and commodities markets. We believe the combination provides a good level of cost and revenue synergies which will help drive profit growth, and S&P Global has a solid track record of acquiring and integrating new businesses. However, we exited our position as the combined entity will be well beyond our mid-cap market cap mandate.”
3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 242
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) retails consumer products and subscriptions. In the filings for the third quarter, the fund detailed that it owned 91,961 shares of the company worth $302 million, representing 5.57% of the portfolio.
Cowen analyst John Blackledge recently raised the price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock to $4,500 from $4,300 and kept an Outperform rating, terming the stock “The Best Idea for 2022” and a “Top Mega Cap”.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with 3.9 million shares worth more than $12.8 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Hayden Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Amazon (AMZN):We sold our last remaining stake in Amazon this quarter. Amazon was our longest-running investment holding, after having originally purchasing it at the inception of Hayden in 2014, at a price of ~$317.
I gave some details of how Amazon has progressed over these past 6.5 years in last year’s Q2 2020 letter, which partners can find here (LINK). The company has executed amazingly well over this tenure, with revenues up ~3.3x and since our initial purchase, and reported operating income up ~30x over that period.
Generally, I believe there are three reasons to sell an investment:1) we recognize our initial thesis is wrong (sell out as quick as possible), 2) we have a significantly higher returning opportunity to redeploy the capital into (sell-down to fund the new investment), or 3) the company is maturing and hitting the top part of it’s S-curve / business lifecycle, so the business has fewer places to reinvest its capital internally. As such, the future returns will likely be lower than the past. This investment thus becomes a “source of capital” in the future, as we fund earlier-stage investment opportunities.
In the case of Amazon, we decided to sell due to the third scenario. I’m sure Amazon will continue to generate value for shareholders and continue to keep pace with the broader technology sector. However, I’m just not confident it’s as attractive an investment as when we first invested.
With ~51% of US households having an Amazon Prime account (and with very low churn), each of these households continuing to increase their annual spend with Amazon, and few / no real competitors in sight, Amazon is a dominant force that will only continue to accrue value as consumers continue to move from offline to online purchases for their everyday needs. Likewise, the “cash-flow machine” of Amazon Web Services is in a similar position of strength, with AWS now having ~32% market share and continuing to grow at +30% y/y. Because of this, I think Amazon is probably one of the safest investments in the technology sector today.
So why did we decide to sell the investment then? Simply put, Amazon is …”read the entire letter here]
2. D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) operates as a homebuilding firm. Latest filings show that Soros Fund Management is long on more than 4.3 million shares in the firm worth $362 million, representing 6.7% of the portfolio.
D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) pays a regular and healthy dividend with a history of increases stretching back more than two decades. In November, the firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.225 per share, an increase of 12.5% from the previous dividend of $0.200.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm Egerton Capital Limited is a leading shareholder in D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) with 8.5 million shares worth more than $722 million.
1. Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34
Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) provides communications services. According to 13F data, the company is the largest holding of the hedge fund. It holds a stake in the firm worth $673 million, consisting of over 3.9 million shares.
In September, Jefferies analyst Ulrich Rathe upgraded Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) stock to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $36.40 from $28.30, backing the firm to double free cash flow in the next three years.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 34 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $791 million in Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA), up from 30 in the preceding quarter worth $806 million.
You can also take a peek at 10 Reddit Stocks Hedge Funds Like and 10 Stocks That Delivered Upbeat Financial Results.
