In 2008 Daniel S. Och, the CEO and founder of OZ Management was the highest-paid executive, and in 2015 he is one of the richest people in the US with a net worth of $3.90 billion. In the last round of 13F filings, OZ Management reported a significant increase in its equity portfolio value, to $36.69 billion from the previous quarter amount of $34.62 billion. Among other things, OZ Management added positions in more than 130 companies during the fourth quarter and we have picked five stocks from among those that are among the largest new stakes in terms of value. Overall, the fund disclosed a diversified equity portfolio with its largest allocations being towards Services, Technology, Healthcare and Basic Materials stocks.
During 2014, OZ Management has seen a significant increase in Assets Under Management to $7.3 billion, driven mainly by an inflow of over $5.0 billion of capital from investors, with the rest representing gains from the performance of OZ Management’s funds. Particularly strong gains have been posted by the real estate funds, which have seen an AUM growth of 108% during 2014. Mr. Och is a former trader at Goldman Sachs Group and started in the hedge fund industry as a manager of the Ziff family’s wealth in 1994. Five years later, he launched his own fund and opened its doors to outside investors, including the Ziff family, which seeded OZ Management.
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the largest new position in terms of value in OZ Management’s equity portfolio at the end of 2014. The fund disclosed a $467.74 million position that contains 8.06 million shares. The stock of the media and technology company gained 14% during 2014, as the company reported top and bottom-line financial growth. Moreover, Comcast is soon expected to complete its merger with Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC). Including Mr. Och, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was on the radars of seven billionaire investors during the fourth quarter, who disclosed holding shares of the company in the latest round of 13F filings. One of the funds with a lot of exposure to Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is Lansdowne Partners, which holds 24.77 million shares valued at $1.44 billion, the stake representing 12% of the fund’s equity portfolio.
Moreover, during the fourth quarter, OZ Management acquired some 8.99 million shares of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and currently owns a stake that is valued at $454.16 million. Yahoo has seen a significant increase in bullish sentiment from investors during the third and fourth quarters, as Alibaba went public and Yahoo was able to monetize its once-$40 billion stake in the Chinese e-commerce giant. Recently Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has announced plans to spin-off its equity stakes into a separate company. The move was expected for a long time by shareholders of the company, with Jeff Smith of Starboard Value being one of the first to say that such a transaction is necessary in order to unlock hidden value of the company. John Burbank of Passport Capital was also optimistic that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) would do the right thing with its equity investments and that this will provide a big payoff for shareholders. At the end of 2014, Starboard held 7.72 million shares of Yahoo, but Passport Capital cut its stake by 82% during the last quarter to 1.40 million shares.
The healthcare sector was also not overlooked by Mr. Och as he initiated two large positions in Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA). In Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP), the fund headed by Mr. Och disclosed a $376.58 million position that contains 5.22 million shares. Endo International is a $14 billion producer of generic and specialty drugs and medical devices. Last week, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating on Endo International and set a price target of $80.00, while Citigroup reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating and raised its price target to $98.00 from $87.00. Among other billionaire investors betting on Endo International plc (NASDAQ:ENDP) are Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital Management, who added 1.19 million shares to his stake, bringing it to 6.85 million shares.
Mr. Och also bet on the drugstore operator Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA), as Walgreens completed its merger with Alliance Boots and formed one of the largest drug retailer companies in the world. OZ Management holds 3.60 million shares of the company as of the end of 2014, valued at $274.40 million. The data from the latest round of 13F filings showed that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was one of the favorite healthcare stocks among billionaires. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was one of the top picks of both Barry Rosenstein of JANA Partners and Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global. In their latest 13F filings, JANA reported ownership of 13.75 million shares and Viking Global disclosed holding 18.93 million shares.
Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) is another new position in OZ Management’s 13F portfolio as the fund purchased almost 10.0 million shares valued at $256.75 million. Plains GP Holdings has seen a significant inflow of capital from investors during the fourth quarter. Among over 700 funds from our database, 24 investors reported holding shares of Plains GP Holdings in the last round of 13F filings, versus 14 funds in the previous quarter. These funds own around $1.0 billion worth of Plains GP Holdings’ stock, up from $140.39 million in the previous quarter. Since going public in 2013, Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP) has been consistently increasing its dividends from $0.13 initially to $0.20 announced at the end of January and the trend is expected to continue in 2015. Billionaire Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group is also bullish on Plains GP Holdings LP (NYSE:PAGP), as his fund raised its stake by 200% during the fourth quarter to 4.73 million shares.
Disclosure: None
