Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Google Inc (GOOG): Scotland-Based Edinburgh Partners Is Loading Up On Tech

Scotland-headquarted hedge fund, Edinburgh Partners is managed by Sandy Nairn and also has an office in New York. With assets under management worth over $13 billion, Edinburgh Partners employes a bottom-up, fundamentals driven approach and also takes a company’s earnings outlook over a five-year period into consideration.

At Insider Monkey, we follow the activity of Edinburgh Partners among other hedge funds, and one of the most efficient ways to track the latest moves made by a hedge fund is by taking a look at quarterly 13F filings; discover the secrets of this strategy here.

In this way, let’s take a closer look at the top five largest stocks from Edinburgh Partners’ equity portfolio. The list is led by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Highlights also include Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC).

In Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Edinburgh Partners reported a stake which contains over 6 million shares, and is worth $207.5 million. During the second quarter of the year, the hedge fund reduced its position in Microsoft by almost 1 million shares. Since the beginning of the year, the stock of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has returned almost 21%.

In the second position is situated Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), in which Sandy Nairn’s hedge fund disclosed ownership of 231,700 shares, the value of the stake amounting to $204 million. In the previous round of 13F filings, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s stake in Edinburgh Partners’ equity portfolio amounted to $215.6 million and contained 271,504 shares.

We should also mention Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC), in which the hedge fund holds over 5.2 million shares, worth $171.4 million. This is a new position in the Edinburgh Partners’ 13F portfolio. The year-to-date return of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC)’s stock is more than 19% and it sports a forward P/E of 16.3x.

The next on the list is Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE:JCI), represented in Edinburgh Partners’ 13F by a $170 million stake, which contains 4.8 million shares. During the second quarter of the year, the hedge fund reduced its stake in Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE:JCI) by 16%, equivalent to 932,066 shares. This stock has returned about 35.5% since the beginning of the year.

Last but not least is Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL). Edinburgh Partners reported a $168.8 million position in Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), which contains more than 4.9 million shares, up by 483,773 shares over the quarter. With an almost flat return since the beginning of the year, Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL)’s stock trades at a forward P/E of 16.5x.

On the whole, the equity portfolio of Edinburgh Partners has a value of $1.68 billion, slightly higher compared to the first-quarter value of $1.64 billion. The portfolio contains 39 positions, up from 27 equities disclosed as at the end of March.

In addition to Edinburgh Partners, Richard Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, Carl Icahn’s Icahn Capital, and Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc are a few other funds worth watching.

Disclosure: none