Recently, we have gone through our database consisting of over 700 hedge funds and found that Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW), Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS), Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN), Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) and DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) drew the attention of prominent billionaire investors George Soros and James Dinan, both of whom disclosed long positions in these companies as of the end of March. So, let’s take a closer look at how these stocks are positioned in the billionaires’ portfolios and how they have performed over the last few months.
George Soros, or ‘the man who broke the bank of England’, is an 84-year-old billionaire famously known for his bets against the British Pound, which made him a fortune. Now he holds the 29th position on the Forbes list of the wealthiest people on the planet, with a net worth of $24.2 billion. Over the last year, his family office, Soros Fund Management, returned about 8% versus the 3.3% industry average during this time, according to Hedge Fund Research. James Dinan’s figures are a bit more modest, relatively speaking. He ranks 276th in the Forbes’ US billionaires list, with a net worth of $2.4 billion. According his the latest 13F filing, the equity portfolio of his fund, York Capital Management, was valued at $14.56 billion. The fund is widely diversified across all sectors, with the consumer staples and finance industries leading the way in terms of capital allocation.
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During the first three months of the year, Soros trimmed his holding in Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW), a $61.43 billion basic materials company, by 11% to 4.36 million shares valued at $222.12 million. This company is one of the largest manufacturers of integrated materials in the world, and is now undergoing a transformation of its business, reorganizing and restructuring its divisions, with the goal of increasing its return on capital. Some analysts believe that the stock is trading with a decent 20% margin of safety. Dinan’s York Capital Management held about 4.68 million shares of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW), valued at $227.73 million at the end of the first quarter.
Soros’ position in Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) contains 4.11 million shares, worth $190.10 million. So far this year, the stock of the developer of animal vaccines has advanced by 11.62%. Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS), a former animal health division of Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), was saddled with $3.6 billion of debt from its parent company after its spin-off in 2013. Despite that, Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) has very nice perspectives, since it operates in a relatively uncompetitive segment, with lucrative 10-12% profit margins. The stock has experienced an eventful ride in the last week, as it was rumored that Valeant would pursue a purchase of the company, which we hinted could be a possibility in March after Bill Ackman took a big stake in Valeant. However, the rumors were quickly shot down, leading to a surge last Thursday, followed by a crash back down last Friday. BMO also downgraded the stock to ‘Market Perform’ last Friday, though it raised its price target to $57 from $51 at the same time. James Dinan’s York Capital Management held about 4.48 million shares of Zoetis valued at $207.29 million at the end of March.
The next in the list is Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN), in which Soros increased his holding of the shares by 30% over the first three months of the year, lifting the total to 417,367 shares valued at $124.22 million. On June 4, Bank of America Merrill Lynch reported an increase in the target price of the pharmaceutical giant to $350 per share. The investment bank believes that the stock still has 14-15% upside potential, as the growth potential has not been fully priced-in yet. York Capital Management owns around 1.53 million shares of Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN), valued at $454.53 million. Allergan, then known still as Actavis, ranked as the most popular stock among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, as well as by the billionaires tracked by Insider Monkey.
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Following a hike of 27% to his holding in Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP), Soros owned 2.22 million shares valued at $198.88 million on March 31. Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) is an Ireland-based company that manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products, the biggest of which are Lidoderm, Opana, Voltaren, and Percocet. Over the current year, the shares of the Irish company have appreciated by 12.69% and still have the potential to realize greater upside due to Endo management’s decision to develop a generic pharmaceuticals division. York Capital Management initiated its position in this stock during the first quarter, and holds 1.88 million shares worth $168.80 million as of March 31.
Lastly, Soros Fund Management held 1.23 million shares of DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) valued at some $85.95 million. DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) is a provider of pay-television services in the United States. Over the last year, there were rumors and speculations about the potential mergers of this company with both DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), though none of them materialized. Now, the company has seemingly found its match with T-Mobile US (NYSE: TMUS), but the potential deal is in the very early stages and the information is still coming from anonymous sources, so we have to wait and see how it plays out. James Dinan is the second-largest shareholder in this company among the fund managers that we track, holding 5.30 million shares valued at $371.17 million.
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