Hedge Funds Are Buying These 10 Large-Caps, Part 1

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 40

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $1.23 Billion

The fall in commodity prices across the board and the turbulence in the global economy has weighed heavily on Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock this year, as it trades with year-to-date losses of over 27%. However, hedge funds haven’t lost faith in the company; to the contrary, they are lapping up its shares in droves. During the third quarter, when Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)’s stock dropped by 22.2%, its ownership among funds in our database increased by 33% and the aggregate value of their holdings declined by just 9%. Even though its stock has slumped significantly this year, the Board of the company announced on December 9 that it will maintain its quarterly cash dividend of $0.77 per share. Considering the price at which Caterpillar Inc. currently trades, this quarterly dividend represents a lucrative dividend yield of 4.62%. Quant fund D E Shaw, founded by billionaire David E. Shaw, was among the hedge funds that increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. significantly, by 366%, during the third quarter; it held 728,650 shares of the company as of September 30.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 53

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $1.46 Billion

Owing largely to the massive slump its stock saw on July 24 after the company declared its second-quarter results, Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) ended the third quarter down by 17%. However, hedge funds saw this as an opportunity to go long. 12 more funds among those covered by us reported owning a stake in the company as of the end of September than did at the end of June, though the aggregate value of these investors’ holdings in the company did decrease by $451 million during that time. On December 1, Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) announced the completion of its acquisition of General Electric Capital Corporation’s Healthcare Financial Services lending business. At a forward price to earnings multiple of 9.77,  Capital One Financial Corp.’s stock is currently trading considerably cheaper than its peers in the financial industry. Donald Chiboucis‘ Columbus Circle Investors increased its stake in the company by 5% to over 2.85 million shares during the third quarter.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 29

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $260 Million

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) had a disastrous third quarter, with its shares slumping more than 26.77%, but the popularity of the company among hedge funds skyrocketed during the same period. The number of funds covered by Insider Monkey that owned a stake in the company increased by over 50% during the quarter, and the aggregate value of their holdings remained nearly the same, despite the depreciation in the shares. For the third quarter, LVS reported EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $2.89 billion, versus analyst expectations of EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $2.98 billion. Billionaire Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group made a greater than eleven-fold increase to its stake in the company during the third quarter and held 439,298 shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) at the end of September.

Disclosure: None