In this article, we will take a look at the Top 10 Stock Picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors. To skip our analysis of Frederick DiSanto’s profile, investment strategy, and 13F holdings, you can go directly to see the Top 5 Stock Picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors.
Frederick DiSanto is the Chairman and CEO of Ancora Holdings Group LLC, a Cleveland, Ohio-based investment advisory firm providing services through multiple registered investment advisers: Ancora Advisors, Ancora Alternatives LLC, Ancora Family Wealth Advisors LLC, and Ancora Retirement Plan Advisors LLC. The investment advisory firm became a part of Focus Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:FOCS) with its acquisition in Q4 2021.
Frederick DiSanto earned a bachelor’s degree in management science from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management. He started his investment career in 1985 with McDonald Investments in institutional equity sales. Later on, he worked as Managing Partner at Gelfand Partners Asset Management, and President and CEO of Maxus Investment Group. Prior to joining Ancora, DiSanto served as Executive vice president and Manager of the Fifth Third Bank’s Investment Advisors Division.
Ancora Advisors specializes in customized portfolio management for individual investors and institutions with $3.14 billion in discretionary assets under management, as of December 31, 2021. As part of its investment strategies, Ancora Advisers manages client portfolios for multiple separate categories including Small-Mid Cap Core, Small Cap Core, Mid Cap Core, Micro-cap value, and dividend value equity, among others. Its Dividend Value Strategy which seeks to own undervalued stocks of companies with dividend growth, has generated a gross return of 10.81% over the last 5 years and 12.42% since inception in July 2009.
As of Q2 2022, Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors’ 13F portfolio is valued at $3.6 billion. The top 10 stock picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors accounted for 24.45% of the portfolio weight and included well-known names such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), among others.
Methodology
We took the top 10 leading companies out of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors’ 13F portfolio at the end of Q2 2022 and ranked them from #10 to #1 based on the portfolio weight of each company. We have also provided the number of hedge funds holding shares of these stocks from our database covering 895 leading hedge funds.
Top 10 Stock Picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors
10. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $43,241,000
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.22%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) is a healthcare technology company based in Minnesota providing health coverage, software, data, and consultancy services. Its health insurance business utilizes technology and data capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, and create a simpler consumer experience.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors owns 84,186 shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), accounting for 1.22% of its 13F portfolio. The hedge fund increased its stake by 2% in Q2 2022, as compared to the previous quarter.
Earlier in September, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) announced a 10-year partnership with Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to collaborate in value based care relationships. As part of the partnership, select Walmart Health locations will improve health outcomes for people, powered by clinical capabilities of Optum, a UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) business. Following the announcement, Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill raised the firm’s price target on its shares to $569 from $556 and maintains a ‘Buy’ rating.
As of Q2 2022, 91 of the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), valued at $10.9 billion. Its largest shareholder was GQG Partners with ownership of 3.1 million shares valued at $1.6 billion.
Alongside Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE), Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), and C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) is in Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors’ Q2 portfolio.
9. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $46,169,000
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a global biopharmaceutical company with a focus on immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women’s health, and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors owns 301,443 shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), accounting for 1.30% of its 13F portfolio, as of Q2 2022. The hedge fund decreased its stake by 2% in Q2 2022, as compared to the previous quarter.
On September 21, JPMorgan analyst Chris Scott reaffirmed his faith in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) shares as the analyst continues to “see a strong case for multiple expansion”. Scott maintains an ‘Overweight’ rating with a $180 price target for the shares.
Earlier in September, AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) announced that it had received an opinion recommending the approval of Risankizumab for the treatment of adults with Crohn’s disease, from the European Medicines Agency’s CHMP.
As of Q2 2022, 71 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), worth $2.9 billion. Arrowstreet Capital was the largest shareholder in the company with ownership of 4.3 million shares valued at $654 million.
8. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $47,843,000
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.35%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world with a history dating back to more than 135 years. It focuses on the research and development, manufacture, and sale of a broad range of products in the healthcare field across three main segments: consumer health, pharmaceutical, and medical devices. Some of its iconic brands include Neutrogena, Aveeno, Tylenol, Listerine, Johnson’s, and Band-Aid.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) was among the top 10 stock picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors with a portfolio weight of 1.35% as of Q2 2022. The hedge fund held 269,520 shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), 2% more than the number of shares held at the end of the previous quarter.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) released the financial results for Q2 2022 earlier this year in July. Its revenue increased by 3% y-o-y to $24 billion, while its net income decreased by 23% y-o-y to $4.8 billion, for three months ended July 3, 2022. It reported a normalized EPS of $2.59 for the quarter, beating the consensus by $0.04. It also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.13 per share.
On October 5, Citi analyst Joanne Wuensch lowered the price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares to $198 from $201 but maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the shares.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of the most commonly owned stock among the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey. As of Q2 2022, 83 hedge funds owned shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), valued at $6.8 billion. GQG Partners is its largest shareholder with ownership of 6.6 million shares valued at $1.2 billion.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments said about Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:
“We reinforced our defensive capabilities during the quarter with the addition of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), a diversified health care company with a strong balance sheet, attractive profitability and return metrics and the ability to generate steady moderate growth. It has one of the more diversified and attractive pharmaceutical portfolios and an improving medical technology business, and it will soon be exiting the lower-growth consumer business. We believe new management has sharpened the strategy to improve execution in the medical device business and look for more meaningful capital allocation opportunities, which the balance sheet can easily support.”
7. IAA, Inc. (NYSE:IAA)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $55,285,000
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.56%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36
IAA, Inc. (NYSE:IAA), based in Westchester, Illinois, is a leading global marketplace to buy and sell total loss, damaged and low-value vehicles. It has over 210 facilities throughout the U.S., Canada, and the UK, and serves a global buyer base across 170 countries.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors doubled down on its investment in IAA, Inc. (NYSE:IAA) shares and increased its stake by a 13% during Q2 2022 compared to the previous quarter, bringing the number of shares owned by the hedge fund to 1,687,085 with a portfolio weight of 1.56%.
On August 10, Baird analyst Craig Kennison lowered the price target on IAA, Inc. (NYSE:IAA) shares to $46 from $50 but maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The change in price target was based upon the fact that the company “reported mixed results and narrowed guidance” according to the analyst.
As of Q2 2022, IAA, Inc. (NYSE:IAA) shares were held by 36 of the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, valued at $613 million. Marshall Wace LLP was the largest shareholder in the company with ownership of 2.7 million shares valued at $89 million.
6. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $58,962,000
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.67%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 258
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a leading technology company with products include operating systems, cross-device productivity applications, server applications, business solution applications, desktop and server management tools, software development tools, and video games. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) boasts over 1.4 billion monthly active devices running its flagship operating system, Windows 10 or 11.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors’ holds 229,576 shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), accounting for 1.67% of its 13F portfolio, as of Q2 2022. The hedge fund shed its stake by 3% during the latest quarter, as compared to the previous one.
On September 20, board of directors of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.68 per share, reflecting a 10% increase over the previous quarter’s dividend. Following the announcement, Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss said the dividend hike highlights the stock’s “durable high-teens total return profile” when factored along with Microsoft’s high-teens percentage EPS growth. The analyst maintains an ‘Overweight’ rating and a price target of $354 for the shares.
As of Q2 2022, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the most sought-after stock among the 895 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey as 258 of these hedge funds held shares in the software giant, valued at $56 billion. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was its largest hedge fund shareholder with ownership of 28.7 million shares valued at $7.4 billion.
Like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), stocks like Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE), Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), and C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) are also in Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors’s Q2 portfolio.
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Disclosure: None. Top 10 Stock Picks of Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors is originally published on Insider Monkey.
