Five Stocks Capturing a Lot of Attention from Hedge Funds

The popularity of ADT Corp (NYSE:ADT) registered a major boost during the first three months of 2016, as elite hedge fund ownership grew to 18.3% of the company’s outstanding stock. Of the funds followed by Insider Monkey, 52 reportedly held a long position, up from 24 at the end of December. Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital that initiated a stake in the company during the quarter, having amassed 1.45 million shares valued at a little over $60 million as reported in the fund’s latest 13F filing. A provider of home and business security systems, ADT Corp (NYSE:ADT) was acquired by Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, for $6.9 billion or $42 a share. Apollo Global had previously acquired two other security firms and plans to merge all three companies into one single entity, that could generate annual revenues in excess of $4.2 billion.

REITs Are Still Hot

At the end of March, 59 of the funds in our database had Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ:GLPI) in their equity portfolio, almost double compared to the previous quarter. Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis’ fund, Canyon Capital Advisors, bought exactly 1 million shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ:GLPI), a stake worth $30.9 million at the end of the quarter. At the end of April, the real estate investment trust posted first quarter results that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ:GLPI) said it had funds from operations of $83.6 million or $0.70 per share, while analysts had projected $0.69 per share. Revenue stayed flat at $148.8 million, in line with expectations. The company is valued at $4.78 billion and pays an annual dividend of $2.19 per share, providing investors with a juicy 6.7% yield. The stock ended yesterday’s trading session at $32.74 per share, up by 19% for the year.

Numero Uno

Hedge fund ownership of Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT) grew the most during the first quarter, reaching 83 long positions and 22% of the common stock. A quarter before, only 50 top hedge fund had this stock in their portfolio. Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital was among the funds sought a taste of Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT), having bought some 11.9 million shares worth $482 million according to the fund’s latest 13F filing. Baxalta was spun off Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) in July 2015, only to reach merger deal with Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG) six months later. The Irish drug maker has agreed to pay $18 in cash and 0.1482 of its American depository shares for each Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT) share. Both companies have recently stated their intent to finalize the deal despite the US lawmakers breaking down on cross-border mergers that aim to reduce the tax bills of the US-based corporations.

Disclosure: none.