In this article, we discuss Dan Loeb and his top 5 stock picks. If you want to read about some more stocks in the Loeb portfolio, go directly to Dan Loeb Stock Portfolio: 10 Top Stock Picks.
5. Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 48
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) operates as a specialty retailer of home fragrances, body care, and soap and sanitizer products. Regulatory filings show that Third Point owned 13 million shares in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $468 million, representing 7.1% of the portfolio.
On November 17, Telsey Advisory analyst Dana Telsey maintained an Outperform rating on Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) stock and lowered the price target to $42 from $52, noting the firm had posted a third consecutive earnings beat.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 48 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.2 billion in Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI), compared to 45 in the preceding quarter worth $2.3 billion.
4. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 278
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a diversified technology firm with core interests in ecommerce. Securities filings show that Third Point owned 4.6 million shares in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $594 million, representing 9.02% of the portfolio.
On November 10, investment advisory Tigress Financial maintained a Buy rating on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock and raised the price target to $210 from $204. Analyst Ivan Feinseth issued the ratings update.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) with 34 million shares worth more than $4.3 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Polen Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Amazon continues to showcase it’s place as one of the most competitively advantaged companies in the world. The company has made significant progress in managing costs and better leveraging existing capacity, driving a strong recovery in its profitability. We think there’s additional room for improvement.
AWS growth seems to be stabilizing even while management continues to work with clients to optimize their infrastructure spend. Roughly 90% of global IT spending remains on premise. We believe this will eventually flip, with most IT spending ultimately moving to the cloud over time. We think AWS will be a significant beneficiary of this transition.
Further, our investment case on company profitability driven by AWS and advertising continues to unfold, delivering nearly $8 billion in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months and a net margin of 5%. We expect both to move higher with the mix shift of more profitable businesses growing fastest continuing to take effect.
At Amazon’s current price, we believe the company is well positioned to deliver a mid-teens or higher total shareholder return for our clients over the next five plus years without a Herculean effort from the business. It simply needs to continue executing on current businesses and growing into the capacity it built during and immediately after the pandemic.”
3. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 89
Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) is a Washington-based conglomerate with interests in professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. Latest filings show that Third Point owned 2.7 million shares in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $607 million, representing 9.21% of the portfolio.
On October 26, investment advisory Barclays maintained an Overweight rating on Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) stock and lowered the price target to $215 from $290, noting that 2024 recovery expectations continued to be reset.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 89 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $6.3 billion in Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), compared to 90 in the preceding quarter worth $5.6 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Baron Funds, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We added to Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), which recently completed the spinoff of its non-life sciences businesses to become a pure-play life sciences tools company. Although near-term trends in the bioprocessing market remain challenging, we like the long-term growth drivers in this business and think Danaher is well positioned.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 300
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based technology company. Latest filings show that Third Point owned 2.2 million shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $702 million, representing 10.65% of the portfolio.
On November 16, investment advisory Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock with a price target of $400, appreciating the rapid innovative power of the firm.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 24 million shares worth more than $7.8 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Jackson Peak Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)/Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) merger arbitrage came to a successful conclusion with the court denying the FTC’s preliminary injunction request. The deal subsequently received approval from the UK CMA and closed in October. The ATVI position was an example of “staying around the hoop” of a significant arb opportunity. At first, the position led to a small loss in Q2 when the UK CMA initially blocked the deal in April, but we stayed close to the case, analyzed the FTC trial and scaled up the ATVI position as it became apparent FTC had a weak case, meaning the probability of the deal going through was mispriced by the market since the companies would likely find a solution to work with the UK CMA (only global regulator who had an issue) if the FTC lost.”
1. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) is a California-based company that deals in electricity and natural gas.13F filings show that Third Point owned 56 million shares in PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $917 million, representing 13.91% of the portfolio.
On November 17, Mizuho analyst Anthony Crowdell maintained a Buy rating on PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) stock and raised the price target to $20 from $19, noting the firm was trading at a discount with a catalyst-heavy story in the dividend realm.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Citadel Investment Group is a leading shareholder in PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) with 18 million shares worth more than $295 million.
In its Q1 2023 investor letter, Third Point Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Our strategy is to preserve liquidity and buying power to take advantage of markets when they “break”. While overall indices remain elevated, we are finding more chances to provide liquidity across all three asset classes in which we invest – credit, structured credit, and equity – opportunities which have been key drivers of performance for the fund. Our portfolio is balanced across industries with a focus on event-driven names including companies involved in spin-offs, significant cost-cutting, or other types of under-appreciated business transformation. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), which is still our largest position, continues to deliver strong performance, down 50bps in the first quarter but up 6.2% for the year to date after the Fire Victims Trust sold another 60 million shares in a block trade.”
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