Hedge Funds Are Buying These 10 Large-Caps, Part 2

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 108

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $6.44 Billion

Shares of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) have been range-bound throughout 2015. However, the popularity of the stock among hedge funds has seen a marked increase over the past few months. During the third quarter, it was added to the portfolios of 13 more funds in aggregate, though the value of their holdings in it saw a decline of over $1.28 billion. On December 10, the Federal Reserve announced that it has evaluated the bank’s resubmitted stress test and approved its forward-looking capital plan. Investors of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) can now breathe a sigh of relief, as after this decision, the bank can continue to pay its $0.05 quarterly dividend and continue to buy back shares. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital more than doubled its stake in Bank of America Corp to over 27.6 million shares during the July-to-September period.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 62

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $2.52 Billion

After witnessing a rally during the first-half of the year, shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) slumped by almost 10% during the third quarter. Nevertheless, they have managed to recover most of those losses in the fourth quarter and currently trade up by 14.55% year-to-date. Hedge funds seem to have made full use of the decline that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY)’s stock suffered during the third quarter, as the number of funds tracked by us that were long the stock increased by 14 and the aggregate value of their Bristol-Myers positions rose by nearly $330 million during the same period, despite the share decline. On December 1, the company suffered a setback after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for its metastatic melanoma drug Opdivo (nivolumab). Michael Castor‘s SIO Capital initiated a stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co during the third quarter, purchasing 82,734 shares of the company.

Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of September 30): 69

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of September 30): $6.87 Billion

Finally, the strong performance of confectionary giant Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ)’s stock this year and over the last three years has helped make it a favorite among hedge funds, especially activist hedge funds. Although the stock of Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) remained nearly flat during the third quarter, its popularity among hedge funds shot through the roof, with a net 20 more funds reporting owning a stake in the company as of the end of September than did as of the end of June. Moreover, the aggregate value of hedge funds’ holdings in the company also saw a spike of 43.11% during the period. One possible reason for so many hedge funds buying the stock could be that revered activist investor Bill Ackman‘s Pershing Square initiated a stake in the company during the period, which became public in early-August. At the end of September, Pershing Square held over 43 million shares of the company and was its second-largest shareholder, after another famous activist investor, Nelson Peltz‘s Trian Partners, which held over 48 million shares.

Disclosure: None