RiverPark Advisors, an investment advisory firm and sponsor of the RiverPark family of mutual funds, released its “RiverPark Large Growth Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the first quarter, the markets performed strongly. The Russell 1000 Growth Index (RLG) and the S&P 500 index returned 11.41% and 10.56%, respectively during the quarter and RPX returned 9.20%. The monthly inflation readings in the first quarter exceeded market expectations. A couple of megatrends that drove the markets higher were GLP-1 weight loss drugs and everything related to artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund highlighted stocks like The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is an entertainment company operates through Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences segments. The one-month return The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was -10.52%, and its shares gained 12.04% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 30, 2024, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) stock closed at $101.70 per share with a market capitalization of $185.403 billion.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund stated the following regarding The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS): DIS was a top contributor in the quarter following strong FY1Q24 earnings that included operating income 12% higher than expected and 24% better EPS. Operating income for all three segments (Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences) was better than investor expectations and the company reiterated guidance for $8 billion of free cash flow in 2024. The company’s direct to consumer (DTC) business was a particular bright spot with improving losses and guidance for Disney+ net adds in FY2Q24 of 5.5-6 million, ahead of expectations of 2.2 million. DIS is blessed with a deep library of unique content that includes both live sports (providing large, non-time shifted audiences) and incomparable brands, including Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm, as well as the ABC network, which make it among the best-positioned media companies in the new landscape to combine multi-channel and DTC distribution. In addition, its theme park, cruise and theatrical businesses continue to be generational rites of passages for children and young adults around the world.
We think CEO Bob Iger is doing a steady job rationalizing investments in each of the company’s segments, which should lead to higher and more consistent profitability at the theme parks, better value realization in the linear assets, and consolidation of the company’s DTC assets leading to higher profitability sooner. We therefore expect DIS to grow its free cash flow significantly over the next 3-4 years, from its depressed $1 billion in 2022, to more than double 2023’s $4.9 billion, exceeding its previous $10 billion peak in 2018.”
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is in 27th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 92 hedge fund portfolios held The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) at the end of the first quarter which was 89 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and shared Morgan Stanley’s top stock picks for 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
