A Look At Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Top New Bets

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was another major new position taken by the fund in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management bought 2 million shares of this media giant and it made up nearly 1% of the fund’s portfolio at the end of the third quarter. The stock has been performing well over the last one month, gaining 6% and is currently trading very near to its 52 week high price. Despite a P/E ratio of 20x, the company gives a good dividend yield of 1.6%. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) recently selected two new TV channels Primo TV and Kids Central to be broadcast through its cable TV network to meet the needs of its Hispanic audience. The company remains highly profitable showing an operating margin of 20% and return of equity of 16.8% during the last quarter. As per our records, the number of funds having this stock in its portfolio declined to 83 in the third quarter from 88 in the quarter earlier.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was the biggest consumer discretionary buy for the fund during the third quarter. Steve Cohen’s fund bought $67.6 million worth of this stock and it comprised of 0.46% of the total portfolio at the end of quarter three. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) owns one of the most famous Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) brands in the world, with operations across more than 120 countries. The company franchises out most of the restaurants keeping ownership of just 1/5^th of the McDonald’s restaurants. The stock has a market capitalization of $100 billion and gives a dividend yield north of 3%. Stephen J. Easterbrook is the CEO of the company and heads over 420,000 employees. At te end of September, 55 funds that we track held shares worth $2.77 billion of this company.

Though Point72 Asset Management showed a bullish inclination towards McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), it was bearish on Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG). The fund bought 75,000 put options of the stock valued at $67 million during the third quarter. Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) has been trading in a narrow range over the last one year and currently has a market value of $221 billion. The company gives a solid dividend yield of 3.2%, despite showing a declining sales growth over the last one year. The company’s core earnings also declined by 2% making the management announce a $10 billion cost cutting program. The management wants to plough the savings from the program into R&D initiatives which will ensure higher growth in the future. At the end of the third quarter, the aggregate value of hedge fund holding in Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) increased by a whopping 262% to more than $20 billion.

AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) is a major industrial manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. This was another big bet that Point72 Asset Management made during the third quarter, buying $65.9 million of this stock. The fund bought 750,000 shares of this company which now makes up 0.46% of the fund’s total portfolio value. The company reported tepid third quarter results, with revenues falling by 5% quarter on quarter to $945 million and earnings declining by 14% during the same period. The company expects to generate $2.3 in earnings for 2016, which gives it a P/E of approximately 20x. The company made an entry into the laser fabrication market for the medical devices market by acquiring privately held Laserage Techonolgy Corporation. The number of funds holding this stock as per our records inched up to 29 from 25 in the second quarter.

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