Columbus Circle Investors Trims Stake in Apple (AAPL), Other Top Stocks

Columbus Circle Investors has disclosed holding long positions in 272 stocks in its latest 13F filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for the reporting period of September 30. The value of the fund’s equity portfolio stood at over $12 billion on that date, those this was down from over $14 billion on June 30. Connecticut-based Columbus Circle Investors had $15.6 billion in assets under management as of June 30. During the ten-year period up until March 31, 2015, the fund posted annualized returns of 15.3% (net of fees) in the small-cap category, versus the 10% annualized return of the Russell 2000 growth index during the same period. In this article, we will take a look at Columbus Circle’s top five stocks heading into the fourth quarter.

FooTToo / Shutterstock.com

Most investors don’t understand hedge funds and indicators that are based on hedge funds’ activities. They ignore hedge funds because of their recent poor performance in the bull market. Our research indicates that hedge funds underperformed because they aren’t 100% long. Hedge fund fees are also very large compared to the returns generated and they reduce the net returns experienced by investors. We uncovered that hedge funds’ long positions actually outperformed the market. For instance the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 53 percentage points since the end of August 2012. These stocks returned a cumulative of 102% vs. a 48.7% gain for the S&P 500 Index (see the details here). That’s why we believe investors should pay attention to what hedge funds are buying (rather than what their net returns are).

#5 Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)

Shares held (as of September 30): 2.95 million

Total Value (as of September 30): $265.45 million

Percent of Portfolio (as of September 30): 2.17%

Columbus Circle trimmed its position in Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) to 2.95 million shares from 2.98 million shares. Having a market cap of $112 billion, Mastercard is among the top providers in the global payments industry, enabling businesses and customers to use electronic forms of payment. For the third quarter, the company reported income of $977 million, versus $1.02 billion in the year-ago period. Revenue was $2.5 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 2%. The performance of Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)’s stock has been positive, with shares gaining nearly 17% year-to-date. Another investor that likes Mastercard is Tom Russo’s Gardner Russo & Gardner, with ownership of 10.03 million shares on June 30.

#4 Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)

Shares held (as of September 30): 3.14 million

Total Value (as of September 30): $282.64 million

Percent of Portfolio (as of September 30): 2.31%

Columbus Circle’s stake in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) drooped to 3.14 million shares from 3.19 million shares during the third quarter. The stock of the social networking company has increased by 39% year-to-date. At the end of the second quarter, the total number of hedge funds among those that we track which were holding Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) in their portfolios jumped to 133, compared to 129 funds at the end of the first quarter. The value of these investments also increased to $8.86 billion, compared to $7.09 billion at the end of the first quarter. Among those investors is Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, which owns 311,106 shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) as of September 30.

We’ll take a look at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Columbus Circle’s other top-three picks on the next page.

#3 Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)

Shares held (as of September 30): 2.58 million

Total Value (as of September 30): $317.72 million

Percent of Portfolio (as of September 30): 2.60%

In Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), Columbus Circle slightly reduced its position to 2.58 million shares from 2.61 million shares. During an investor meeting held last month, Nike announced a revenue target of $50 billion by the end of fiscal year 2020, with the company planning to achieve $20 billion of that in North America by that time. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) repurchased a total of 5.5 million shares for about $588 million during the first quarter, with the repurchasing being part of its four-year, $8.0 billion program announced in September 2012. Another investor that believes in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) is Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz’s Lansdowne Partners, which owns 8.34 million shares.

#2 Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Shares held (as of September 30): 3.47 million

Total Value (as of September 30): $341.13 million

Percent of Portfolio (as of September 30): 2.79%

Columbus Circle trimmed its stake in Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to 3.47 million shares from 3.56 million shares during the third quarter. Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), a $155.4-billion research-based biopharmaceutical company, are up by 14.4% year-to-date. On Thursday, Gilead Sciences announced that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Genvoya, the world’s first TAF-based single-tablet HIV-1 treatment regimen. Genvoya is designed to treat patients aged 12 and above. Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)’s net income increased to $4.6 billion, or $3.06 per share, for the third quarter, compared to $2.7 billion, or $1.67 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues also rose to $8.3 billion, compared to $6.0 billion last year. Among the investors that we track, billionaire Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management held 4.18 million Gilead Sciences shares at the end of the second quarter.

#1 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Shares held (as of September 30): 4.37 million

Total Value (as of September 30): $482.22 million

Percent of Portfolio (as of September 30): 3.94%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains the top holding of Columbus Circle, which trimmed its position in the company during the quarter, as it did with each of its top picks, from 4.42 million shares. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the favorite Dow stock among the billionaires in our database as of the end of the second quarter, though the number of billionaires holding Apple fell to 15 from 16 quarter-over-quarter, while the value of their investments decreased to $12.16 billion from $13.05 billion. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock have increased by 9.78% year-to-date. Apple is a favorite stock of Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital LP, which held 52.76 million shares of the company as of the end of June.

Disclosure: None