Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Healthcare Stock Picks

#3 Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO)

Shares Owned by Fisher Asset Management (as of September 30): 11.65 million shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $632.02 million

Fisher Asset Management sold a portion of its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO) during the September quarter. To be more detailed, the investment firm decreased its position in the Danish drugmaker by 643,596 shares or approximately 5%. The largest insulin maker in the world recently posted third quarter net profit of 8.38 billion Danish kroner ($1.24 billion), which was up by 29% year-over-year. Meanwhile, its sales climbed by 20% year-over-year to 26.8 billion kroner ($3.94 billion). Let us remind you that the Danish insulin maker recently received FDA approval for two injectable drugs, Tresiba and Ryzodeg. Tresiba is currently marketed in 30 countries and is expected to generate annual sales of $2.4 billion by 2020 (read more details here). The stock has advanced by 27% since the beginning of the year. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the top shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO) within our database at the end of the second quarter, holding 14.09 million shares.

#2 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Shares Owned by Fisher Asset Management (as of September 30): 10.69 million shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $997.86 million

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was the seventh-largest equity holding of Fisher Asset Management at the end of the third quarter. Ken Fisher’s firm increased its holding in the three-sector healthcare company by 47,727 shares during the ugly three-month period. The shares of Johnson & Johnson are slightly more than 2% in the red year-to-date and are currently trading at a trailing P/E ratio of 19.57. This ratio is greatly above the 15.3 ratio for the healthcare sector, but it might be quite hard to make any conclusions on these figures considering this measure does not take into account the future growth rates (the trailing ratio does not reflect the future growth potential of companies’ drug candidates). The company also pays out an annualized dividend of $3 per share of common stock, which provides a current dividend yield of 2.94%. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management held a 4.56 million-share stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on June 30.

#1 Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Shares Owned by Fisher Asset Management (as of September 30): 31.93 million shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $1.00 billion

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) represents the largest healthcare-related holding and the sixth-largest equity holding overall of Fisher Asset Management as of the end of the September quarter. Ken Fisher enlarged his position in the company by 110,130 shares during the latest quarter. Just recently, the executives of Pfizer and Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN) acknowledged that the two parties have been involved in merger discussions. A potential deal between the two could allow Pfizer to become a part of Allergan as an Ireland-based company, which would make it subject to a lower corporate tax rate. The biopharmaceutical company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, offering a current dividend yield of 3.19%. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, was one of the top equity holders of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) at the end of the second quarter, with 7.94 million shares.

Disclosure: None