Ray Dalio’s 5 Monster Moves in Q1: Disney, McDonald’s, Alphabet, Amazon, Coca-Cola

If the monitoring of the latest hedge fund moves is of any importance to a retail investor (and we believe that it is), then Ray Dalio‘s Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with more than $150 billion in assets under management, deserves special attention. After a thorough look through the firm’s latest 13F filing, which revealed that it still has several large bets on ETFs, including emerging markets ETFs, we pinpointed the five biggest moves made during the first quarter by the billionaire’s firm. Without further ado, let’s check out five prominent stocks that Mr. Dalio bought or sold during the first quarter.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

 – Shares Owned by Bridgewater Associates (as of March 31): 0

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): 0

Amazon has enjoyed a torrid run since the start of 2015, gaining about 128% in value, which may have prompted Bridgewater to take profits and move on. After trimming its Amazon stake by 57% during the fourth quarter, it sold out of the remaining 8,206 shares during the first quarter. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is scheduled to make its first foray into perishable food in the coming weeks, with a range of products including nuts, spices, tea, coffee, baby food, and vitamins. The company seems to have an insatiable appetite to enter as many markets as it can, beyond just being an industry leader in the cloud and e-commerce industries. Alex Snow‘s Lansdowne Partners hiked its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 19% during the March quarter to 2.2 million shares.

The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO)

 – Shares Owned by Bridgewater Associates (as of March 31): 0

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): 0

Another holding that Bridgewater wiped from its equity portfolio during the first three months of the year was that of the $194 billion beverage giant. The fund held about 298,000 shares of The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) at the end of last year. As a consumer staples stock, Coca Cola shares have shown low volatility in the past and according to Barclays’ Jonathan Glionna, are still cheap, whereas other names in the sector continue to climb to higher earnings multiples. In its financial results for the first quarter, The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) delivered revenue which was in-line with expectations, while earnings exceeded estimates. According to CEO Kent Mukhtar, the company seems to be making good progress on the five-point transition plan that he announced about a year-and-a-half ago, with the goal of reinvigorating growth and increasing profitability. Yacktman Asset Management, which is led by Donald Yacktman, reduced its Coca-Cola holding by 9% during the first quarter to 18.29 million shares.

On the next page we discuss three major stocks that Mr. Dalio added to his fund’s portfolio in the first quarter.

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

 – Shares Owned by Bridgewater Associates (as of March 31): 10,926 Class A Shares

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $8.34 Million

After disposing of its Alphabet holding in the fourth quarter, Bridgewater decided to re-open a position in the stock during the January-to-March period. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is being hounded by a couple of antitrust lawsuits, which includes European antitrust authorities planning to impose a record fine on the company amounting to €3 billion ($3.4 billion) in the coming weeks, according to the U.K.’s Telegraph. Shares of Alphabet have dipped by almost 7% since the start of this year, though the company has overtaken Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as the most valuable in the world during that time. Despite the company’s legal troubles, Harris Associates seems to be upbeat about Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s future prospects, as it initiated a stake of 1.98 million Class C shares of the company during the first trimester.

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

 – Shares Owned by Bridgewater Associates (as of March 31): 125,826

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $15.81 Million

Bridgewater’s new stake in the iconic fast food brand represented about 1.37% of the company’s stock. The rise of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s shares in the past 12 months, a surge of 31.4%, has been rather impressive given that not much was expected of the stock. The $112 billion quick service restaurant operator has been consistently beating both top and bottom-line estimates over the last four quarters however, which has spurred the strong gains. Consequently, the company’s turnaround plan that was announced last year, which was focused on enhancing customer-driven elements through unmatched convenience and compelling value, seems to be taking hold. Senator Investment Group, which is managed by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin, sees yet more upside for the fast food chain as it boosted its McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) holding by 17% in the March trimester to 1.75 million shares.

Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)

 – Shares Owned by Bridgewater Associates (as of March 31): 210,300

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $20.89 Million

The $161 billion family entertainment and media enterprise was another one of Bridgewater’s major new stakes during the first quarter. Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)’s stock hit a rough patch recently and is down by almost 6% this year following the announcement of its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2016 on May 10. The company’s quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share missed estimates by $0.04, while its revenue of $12.97 billion fell short of expectations by $220 million. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management was bullish on Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) during the first quarter, raising its stake in the company by 1% to 8.65 million shares.

Disclosure: None