Columbus Circle Investors is a big U.S.-based hedge fund and asset management firm, led by Donald Chiboucis, which in the past years, has been consistently beating its benchmarks. Recently the fund reported its equity portfolio, as at the end of last year. The total value of the portfolio amounted to $14.64 billion, slightly up from $14.11 billion disclosed at the end of the third quarter. The filing revealed that at the end of last year, Columbus added 75 new positions to its equity portfolio, and sold out of around 100 other companies.
The largest portion of the Columbus Circle Investors is held in the Services Sector (around 24%) followed by Technology and Healthcare stocks (around 16% in each). In this piece, we have selected five companies, in which the fund holds the largest stakes, in terms of value.
The first on the list is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in which Columbus disclosed a $419.03 million stake, which amasses 746,900 shares. The stock of Apple gained around 10% during 2013, and is considered one of the leaders in the industry. Recently, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been in the middle of attention amid Carl Icahn‘s intentions to initiate a big share buyback program. However, the billionaire, which holds a significant stake in Apple has dropped his plan, stating that the buyback is unnecessary.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) comes in next, Columbus owning over 5.19 million shares, worth $389.82 million. Over the past year, the stock of Gilead surged by 107% amid positive performance of the company. For 2013, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reported a total revenue of $11.20 billion, up by 15% on the year, and a net income of $1.81 per share, versus $1.64 in the same period of the previous year.
In Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), Columbus disclosed ownership of over 1.18 million shares, with a reported value of $331.10 million. While Donald Chiboucis’ fund slightly trimmed the holding, it still remains a significant shareholder of the company. Aside from Columbus, Orbimed Advisors, led by Samuel Isaly, reported holding over 1.02 million shares as at the end of the third quarter. Aside from these two, over 50 other funds disclosed holding shares of Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) in the previous round of 13F filings.
The fourth-largest holding in Columbus’ equity portfolio is represented by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), in which the fund owns around 249,900 shares, worth $280.09 million. In the last quarter of 2013, Google has reported solid financial results in the form of a 17% increase in revenues over the year to $16.86 billion. The net income increased to $3.38 billion, from $2.89 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the full 2013, Google reported an EPS of $43.89, slightly missing the consensus estimates.
And the last on our list of the top five picks is Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), represented in Columbus’ equity portfolio by a $252.77 million position, which amasses over 3.21 million shares. The fund has been bullish on the company during the fourth quarter, adding around 552,900 shares to its holding. The stock of Nike had a stable performance during 2013, advancing by almost 55%. Currently, the share price of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) amounts to around $74, which is still below the mean analysts target of around $81.
Disclosure: none
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