Winton Capital Reduces Size of Several Top Holdings Entering Q2

#3 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

 – Shares Owned by Winton Capital (as of March 31): 1.23 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $112.78 Million

Mr. Harding’s firm trimmed its stake in $114 billion pharmaceutical giant Gilead by 2% during the first quarter. Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), known for its blockbuster hepatitis C drugs, have lost more than 15.3% of their value this year on the heels of disappointing first quarter financial results that missed both the top and bottom-line estimates. Even though Gilead still has 90% market share when it comes to its aforementioned hepatitis C drugs, it had to lower the price of its drugs to maintain that market share dominance in the face of stiff competition, thus impacting its bottom-line unfavorably. Clifford Fox‘s Columbus Circle Investors holds about 3.2 million shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) valued at $293.75 million as of March 31.

#2 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

 – Shares Owned by Winton Capital (as of March 31): 1.09 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $118.65 Million

During the January-to-March period, the firm decreased its holding in the Cupertino-based tech giant, a position it has held since the second quarter of 2014, by 4%. Formerly one of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s largest shareholders and biggest bulls, activist investor Carl Icahn recently announced dumping his entire stake in the company, which had comprised 45.76 million shares on December 31. While sluggish demand for the iPhone has been cutting into Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s top-line, promising growth was witnessed in Apple Watch sales in March, as they increased by 250% quarter-over-quarter following a $50 price cut to the basic model, which now costs $299. Apple is expected to release the Apple Watch 2 later this year, which should lead to further price cuts for all of the first edition’s models.

#1 International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)

 – Shares Owned by Winton Capital (as of March 31): 1.13 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $170.94 Million

Winton Capital’s IBM holding was slashed by 20% in the first quarter, though it remained the fund’s top stock pick. While shares of the struggling tech giant are down by nearly 15% in the last 12 months, they have risen by over 7% on a year-to-date basis, as the company managed to beat both the top and bottom-line estimates in its financial results for the first quarter. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is harnessing new technologies in order to try and gain a competitive edge on its rivals, such as its IBM Quantum Experience platform, which has been made available to the general public through the IBM Cloud and employs Watson’s artificial intelligence to solve cyber-security issues. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management also cut its International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) stake during the first trimester, by 12% to about 22,300 shares.

Disclosure: None