On the fifth spot is Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT), a large-cap healthcare company. The number of hedge funds holding the stock in their 13F portfolios, went up by five to a total of 118 funds, which own a total of $13.04 billion worth of stock. Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) has been appreciating over the last couple of days amid its deal to acquire botox-maker Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN) for $66 billion, outrunning a bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) and Bill Ackman‘s Pershing Square. One of the shareholders of Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT) is Daniel Och‘s OZ Management, which owns 4.83 million shares, valued at $1.17 billion, according to its latest 13F filing.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has also made the list, and is currently the sixth most popular choice among hedge funds. However, during the third quarter, the company has seen a decrease in the interest from hedge funds, the number of which declined by eight to 118 funds. On the other hand, the aggregate value of positions held by these funds declined only by $767.19 million to $6.04 billion, which shows that the majority of investors raised their exposure to the stock. A lion’s share of the capital held in General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is amassed by Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway. During the third quarter, Berkshire upped its stake by 7.04 million shares to 40.0 million shares, valued at $1.28 billion. The stock of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) lost around 20% year-to-date on the back of various issues, and several big recalls. However, Buffett and other investors must be seeing more long-term opportunities, which explains the bullish sentiment.
GM is followed closely by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), in which the total number of funds holding the stock decreased by 12 to 118. These funds own a total of $16.22 billion worth of stock, down from $17.34 billion at the end of the second quarter. As usual, one of the top shareholders of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Jeff Ubben‘s ValueAct Capital, which owns 74.24 million shares as of the end of September; the stake is valued at $3.44 billion, equal to 23% of the fund’s equity portfolio.
As it was mentioned earlier, the eighth position is also held by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), but by its class C stock. Overall, 113 hedge funds reported long positions in the company, down by 2 over the quarter. The aggregate value, however, went slightly up to $6.11 billion from $6.02 billion. UK-based Lansdowne Partners, managed by Alex Snow, owns around 959,700 shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), up by 229,300 shares over the quarter. As of the end of September, the stake is worth $554.07 million and amasses 5% of Lansdowne’s equity portfolio.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has also made the list being included in the 13F portfolios of 109 funds, down by 6 over the quarter. Overall, the hedge funds that we follow, own around $9.12 billion worth of the company’s stock, up from $8.54 billion in the previous quarter. One of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)’s shareholders is Eric Mandelblatt‘s Soroban Capital Partners, which held 5.01 million shares at the end of September, up by 2.41 million shares over the quarter; Soroban’s stake in Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) is valued at $508.70 million.
It would’ve been a surprise if Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) hadn’t made the list of ten most popular stocks among hedge funds. However, the company is sharing the 9th and 10th position with Anadarko and has been included in the equity portfolios of 109 hedge funds among those that we track after it went public a couple of months ago. Overall, hedge funds hold around $7.68 billion of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s stock. Two notorious investors that are among the shareholders of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) are Andreas Halvorsen‘s Viking Global and Dan Loeb‘s Third Point. Viking Global reported an $1.01 billion position, which amasses 11.39 million shares, while Third Point’s stake contains 7.20 million shares and is valued at $639.72 million. It is also important to mention that in both funds’ equity portfolios, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) represents one of the top holdings in terms of value.
Disclosure: none
