Tracking the activity of billionaire hedge fund managers is a great way to identify profitable investments that will help you beat the market. Here at Insider Monkey, we gather information regarding stock picks made by these investment firms and analyze their equity portfolios. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy -which is based on the hedge fund filings- outperformed the market by more than 75 percentage points since its inception 2.5 years ago. In the following article we will take a closer look at some of George Soros’ top picks from the fourth quarter that were also very popular among other billionaire hedge fund managers. Out of the 10 largest positions in terms of their value appearing in Soros Fund Management’s equity portfolio, other billionaires were the particularly bullish regarding Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW), Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS), and American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL).
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) represented George Soros’ top holding at the end of 2014, with a stake of 4.40 million shares, valued at $457.34 million. Furthermore, a total of 90 hedge funds were betting on the company last quarter, holding around $7.10 billion worth of stock in aggregate. Billionaire investors were particularly bullish regarding the stock, with 15 funds owning $4.45 billion worth of stock. Dan Loeb’s Third Point was the largest shareholder in the group, holding 10 million shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), valued at approximately $1.04 billion, and accounting for 9.37% of its equity portfolio. Rob Citrone, Andreas Halvorsen, and John Paulson are a few of other billionaires holding shares of Alibaba.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) is one of Soros Fund Management’s top three picks, as the investment firm owns 4.86 million shares, valued at $279.5 million. Yet Mr. Soros is not the only billionaire betting on this stock, as nine other investors disclosed a stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) last quarter. All together these 10 funds held $799 million worth of stock. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was one of the largest shareholders among these firms, holding 5.29 million shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), valued at $304.42 million.
Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) was not only among George Soros’ top five picks, with a position of 5.18 million shares, valued at $236.43 million, but was also quite popular among other institutional investors. While 48 hedge funds held a stake in the company, a total of 9 billionaire managers took a bullish stance towards the stock last quarter, holding $2.84 billion worth of stock. Dan Loeb was betting the most on this equity, as his fund Third Point disclosed a stake of 22 million shares in its last 13F filing, valued at around $1 billion, and accounting for 9.05% of its equity portfolio. Other billionaires betting on Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) include David E. Shaw, Daniel S. Och, Kenneth Mario Garshina, and James Dinan
Last quarter George Soros’ firm disclosed ownership of 4.10 million shares of Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS), valued at $176.71 million. Furthermore, a total of 61 hedge funds were betting on this stock, holding $3.63 billion worth of stock. In addition to George Soros, other 9 billionaire investors held Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) in their equity portfolios, including David E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Ken Griffin, and Jim Simons, to name just a few. Not only did the stock gain 31.7% in 2014, but it also ranks as one of billionaire Bill Ackman’s top picks for the fourth quarter.
Finally, a total of 13 billionaires holding a stake in American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) at the end of the fourth quarter, owned a total of $1.96 billion worth of stock. Although Soros Fund Management trimmed its exposure to the stock by 42%, the investment firm still owns 3.27 million shares, valued at $175.48 million and holds the company among its top 10 picks. Furthermore, a total of 123 hedge funds were bullish regarding American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), which gained around 19% over the past 52 weeks. Among the funds we track, James Dinan’s York Capital Management appears as the company’s largest shareholder among institutional investors, holding 12.19 million shares, valued at around $652.61 million. Daniel S. Och, David Tepper, Dan Loeb, and Ken Griffin are some of the other billionaires betting on American Airlines.
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