3. Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 75
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $7.74 Billion
Another mega-cap company, in which hedge funds chose to hoard their shares, was Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA). While the number of hedge funds out of the ones tracked by Insider Monkey during the quarter went down by eight, the aggregate ownership of these funds was up by 1.52% during the quarter, representing 7.40% of the company’s portfolio. MasterCard, alongside other financial services companies, is facing charges over accusation of conspiring to overcharge ATM fees. In the company’s latest financial results, it posted earnings per share of $0.85, representing a 6% increase over the same quarter last year. The shares of Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) have rallied 9.27% year-to-date. At the end of the second quarter, Tom Russo‘s Gardner Russo & Gardner was the largest shareholder within our database, with a position of 10.03 million shares valued at $937.81 million.
2. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 91
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $34.13 Billion
At the end of the second quarter, it was clear that hedge funds were bullish on Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), with the number of long investors rising by 19 during the quarter. The aggregate ownership by these hedge funds shot up by 4.03% during the quarter, with that ownership representing 11.80% of the company’s equity. The banking and financial services company is currently a front runner in a bid to purchase General Electric’s railcar leasing unit. Year-to-date, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC)’s stock has been down by 2.33%. Again, Berkshire Hathaway owns the largest position among the funds we follow, which contains 470.29 million shares. Billionaire Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management was also long on the stock at the end of the quarter with 18.70 million shares.
1. Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 151
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $20.73 Billion
Finally, on the first spot is Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN), the Irish pharmaceutical company, which also ranked as the most popular stock among the funds we track, even though the number of investors with long positions declined from 157. Nevertheless, the positions of these investors amass more than 17% of Allergan’s outstanding stock. The company, formerly known as Actavis, has recently announced a nationwide recall of some eye-treatment ointments sold under Refresh and Lacri-Lube brands among others, after some complaints from a small number of customers that a black particle can find its way into the ointment when its aluminum cap is unscrewed. In terms of stock performance, Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN) has been up by 19.66% year-to-date. At the end of the second quarter, Andreas Halvorsen‘s Viking Globa, held 6.80 million shares of Allergan, followed by Daniel S. Och’s Management, which owns 3.68 million shares worth $1.12 billion.
Disclosure: None
