Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article erroneously attributed the founding of Tiger Global Management to Julian Robertson, who founded the unrelated hedge fund Tiger Management. Charles Coleman, who once worked for Robertson, founded Tiger Global Management. The author and the Fool regret the error.
Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.
Interesting developments
So what does Tiger Global’s latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details.
The biggest new holdings are Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA) and FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT). Other new holdings of interest include First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR). The company has struggled, along with many peers, but bulls have high hopes for its projects in emerging markets such as India and note that it’s one of the lowest-cost installers and has a stronger balance sheet than its rivals. My colleague Travis Hoium thinks the company would do well to shift some attention from serving utilities to residential and commercial work, and that it might even change its financial structure.
Among holdings in which Tiger Global Management increased its stake were 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) and Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI). Three-dimensional-printing specialist 3D Systems recently disappointed investors with a strong quarter that justwasn’t as strong as many had hoped. Some worry about cutbacks in military or industrial spending, but there’s also a promising consumer market. Meanwhile, the recent price dropspells opportunity to some.
Long known for its postage-meter business, Pitney Bowes yields a whopping 11.5%. It has been challenged by the growth of electronic communications over mailed communications. On the plus side, though, Pitney Bowes is involved in other less-threatened and higher-margin businesses as well, such as providing geocoding software to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and others. The company recently posted estimate-topping quarterly results, and its single-digit P/E ratio is enticing, but it does carry some risks and considerable debt, and its hefty dividend may end up reduced.
Tiger Global Management reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Frontier Communications Corp (NASDAQ:FTR). Frontier offers a tantalizing 9.8% dividend yield, butit’s experiencing shrinking cash flow, steep interest expenses, and revenue drops in its data and Internet services. My colleague Rick Munarriz reminds us that steep yields bear close watching. Indeed, Frontier Communications Corp (NASDAQ:FTR) is paying out more than it’s making.
Finally, Tiger Global’s biggest closed positions included Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and calls on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Other closed positions of interest include wastewater treatment and disposal specialist Heckmann Corporation (NYSE:HEK), which is making money serving the controversial fracking industry and is present in just about every shale field. The company has been unprofitable, but it has beenturning that around and made a promising purchase of Power Fuels last year.
We should never blindly copy any investor’s moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing, and 13F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
The article Here’s What Tiger Global, a Hedge Fund Pioneer, Has Been Buying originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Selena Maranjian.
Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter,owns shares of Apple and Google. The Motley Fool recommends 3D Systems, Apple, Facebook, and Google; owns shares of 3D Systems, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Heckmann; and has options on 3D Systems and Heckmann.
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