In this article, we discuss Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors’ top stock picks: Facebook, Herbalife and more. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors’ Top 5 Stock Picks.
Established in February 2010, Deccan Value Investors is a Greenwich-based hedge fund set up by Vinit Bodas, a former partner at Brandes Investment Partners. Deccan Value Investors employs a globally focused long bias strategy, investing primarily in securities, equities, and instruments that are convertible into equities, in addition to other derivative instruments that provide a comparable level of exposure.
Vinit Bodas was born in 1962 and holds an MBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Bodas operates 7 private funds from his hedge fund, Deccan Value Investors, and manages more than $2.53 billion in 13F securities. Some of the notable stock picks of Deccan Value Partners as of the second quarter include salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).
According to Deccan Value Investors’ latest 13F holdings for the second quarter of 2021, the fund owns 1.4 million shares of salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) worth over $343 million. The investment represents a hefty 13.52% of Mr. Bodas’ portfolio. This August, Loop Capital analyst Yun Kim raised his price target on salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) to $265 from $235 and reiterated a Hold rating on the shares.
As of the second quarter of 2021, Mr. Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors holds 1.24 million shares in the software giant, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). These shares are worth more than $337 million and represent 13.29% of the fund’s portfolio. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) pays an annual dividend of $2.24 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 0.75%.
As of June 2021, Deccan Value Investors has stakes worth $283.4 million in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). The fund holds more than 137,000 shares in the company that covers an impressive 12.54% of its 13F portfolio.
Our Methodology
With this context in mind, here is our list of Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors’ top stock picks. These were ranked according to the investment portfolio of Deccan Value Investors at the end of the second quarter of 2021.
The hedge fund sentiment around the stocks was gauged using data of 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. The list is compiled according to the hedge fund holders in each stock.
The analyst ratings of the companies and their basic business fundamentals are also discussed to provide readers with some more context for their investment decisions.
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash
Vinit Bodas’ Deccan Value Investors’ Top Stock Picks: Facebook, Herbalife and More.
9. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE:HLF)
Bodas’ Stake Value: $156,348,000
Percentage of Vinit Bodas’ 13F Portfolio: 6.16%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) offers nutrition solutions in North America, Mexico, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) provides products in the areas of weight management; targeted nutrition; energy, sports, and fitness; and outer nutrition. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
This June, B. Riley analyst Jeff Van Sinderen initiated coverage of Herbalife Nutrition with a Buy rating and $70 price target. Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) has become a global leader in weight management nutritional supplements through a community-based approach, reaching consumers across a broad range of incomes, Van Sinderen told investors in a research note.
By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 40 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) worth about $2.09 billion. This is compared to 40 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of approximately $1.99 billion.
8. Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)
Bodas’ Stake Value: $195,448,000
Percentage of Vinit Bodas’ 13F Portfolio: 7.7%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 266
Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) develops products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and in-home devices worldwide. The company’s products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. The company also provides Facebook Reality Labs, an augmented and virtual reality product that helps people feel connected, anytime, and anywhere. Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
Last month, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill raised his price target on Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) to $440 from $425 and kept a Buy rating on the shares as he rolled forward his estimates. The analyst added that Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) has beaten Street revenue forecasts for the last 11 quarters. Instagram Reels and Shops ads should be incremental upside drivers for 2022 sales growth, added Thill.
By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 266 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) worth approximately $42.3 billion. This is compared to 257 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of roughly $40.9 billion.
First Eagle Investment Management, an investment management firm, published its second-quarter 2021 investor letter, in which the firm mentioned Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and shared its stance on the company. Here’s what they had to say:
“Leading contributors in the First Eagle Global Fund this quarter included Facebook, Inc. Class A. Facebook has continued to post impressive results for both revenue and active users of its traditional platforms. In the meantime, the social media giant continues to make progress on new initiatives—like Facebook Horizon (virtual reality) and Facebook Shops (e-commerce)—and maintains attractive monetization optionality around services like Messenger and WhatsApp.”
7. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR)
Bodas’ Stake Value: $244,572,000
Percentage of Vinit Bodas’ 13F Portfolio: 9.64%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) operates as a broadband connectivity and cable operator company serving residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company provides Internet services, such as security suite, in-home WiFi, out-of-home WiFi, Spectrum WiFi services, and video services. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) also sells local advertising across various platforms for networks, such as MTV, CNN, and ESPN. The company serves approximately 31 million customers in 41 states. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
This August, Pivotal Research analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak raised his price target on Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) to $1,000 from $820 and kept a Buy rating on the shares.
By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 75 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) worth approximately $19.5 billion. This is compared to 74 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of roughly $16.4 billion.
Mr. Bodas included Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) in his holdings, along with Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF).
ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Large Cap Value Strategy” first quarter 2021 investor letter, in which it mentioned Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR). Here’s what the firm said:
“The portfolio’s quality bias and valuation discipline have generated compelling returns over time with typically strong relative results in more challenging environments as it did through the first three quarters of 2020. However, that same quality bias tends to create a more challenging relative performance environment for the Strategy during periods of sharp economic acceleration, which tend to benefit stocks that are more commodity linked or of lower quality. This has been the case during the vaccine- and stimulus-driven rally experienced late last year and during the most recent quarter. Sectors that lagged in the quarter included communication services, where Charter trailed after generating robust returns earlier in the recovery.”
6. Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)
Bodas’ Stake Value: $253,105,000
Percentage of Vinit Bodas’ 13F Portfolio: 9.97%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.
This May, Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Akers initiated coverage of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) with an Equal Weight rating and $130 price target in a broader sector initiation on Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services.
According to the latest 13F filings, Vinit Bodas owns $253 million worth of shares in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) through his hedge fund, Deccan Value Investors. The more than 2 million shares cover a hefty 9.97% of Mr. Bodas’ investment portfolio.
By the end of the second quarter of 2021, 22 hedge funds out of the 873 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) worth approximately $682.5 million. This is compared to 27 hedge funds in the previous quarter with a total stake value of roughly $643 million.
Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD), along with Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF), is a key contributor to Deccan Value Investors’ 13F portfolio.
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Disclosure: None. Deccan Value Investors’ Top Stock Picks: Facebook, Herbalife and More is originally published on Insider Monkey.
