According to the Aggregated Portfolio of Gurus, a Premium feature of GuruFocus, the four most-bought stocks among gurus during the fourth quarter of 2019 were Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Financial), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA, Financial), Facebook Inc. (FB, Financial) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH, Financial).
Dow tumbles on increased coronavirus fears
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank below 29,000 for the first time since Feb. 4, closing at 28,992.41. Friday’s close represented a 227.57-point drop from the previous close of 29,219.98. Dow-component Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financial), the company founded by Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio), tumbled 3.16% for the day.
The National Health Commission of China reported over 800 new cases of the coronavirus overnight; additionally, South Korea reported an increase of 200 cases. CNBC added that global growth “is still set to fall” near zero in the first quarter even if the outbreak recedes, according to a research note from Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA Research. Berezin further said that a near-term hit to corporate earnings is nearly unavoidable even if global growth bounces back later in the year.
Hedge funds flock to big-name companies like Amazon
CNBC also reported that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS, Financial) said in a note that the typical hedge fund “now carries 69% of the long portfolio in its top-10 holdings, up from 55% in 2005.” The note also mentions that investors are “crowding into the biggest stocks” like Amazon and Microsoft.
GuruFocus’ Aggregated Portfolio reports that 22 gurus bought shares of the Seattle-based retail giant during the fourth quarter of 2019. Gurus with large holdings in Amazon include Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) and Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio).
GuruFocus ranks Amazon’s profitability 8 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a 4.5-star business predictability rank, a return on equity that outperforms 87.03% of global competitors and a three-year revenue growth rate that outperforms 91.30% of global cyclical retail companies.
Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) owns 537,300 shares of Amazon as of quarter-end.
Alibaba
Nineteen gurus purchased shares of Alibaba, including Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio)’ Brandes Investment and Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio)’ Oaktree Capital.
GuruFocus ranks the Chinese retail giant’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several safe investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and operating margins that are outperforming over 94% of global competitors despite contracting over the past five years.
Forty-one gurus own shares of Facebook, with 17 gurus buying shares. Gurus with large holdings in the Menlo Park, California-based social media giant include the firms of Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio) protégés Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio) and Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio).
GuruFocus ranks Facebook’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include expanding profit margins and returns that are outperforming over 83% of global competitors.
UnitedHealth
Thirty-three gurus have holdings in UnitedHealth, with 17 gurus buying shares. Gurus with large holdings in the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based health plans company include Dodge & Cox and the Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio).
GuruFocus ranks UnitedHealth’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a five-star business predictability rank and a return on equity that outperforms 80% of global competitors.
See also
According to the Aggregated Portfolio, four other companies had 16 guru buys each: Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW, Financial), ViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC), DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD, Financial) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, Financial).
Disclosure: No positions.
Read more here:
- Stanley Druckenmiller’s Top 6 Buys in the 4th Quarter
- Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management Buys 5 Stocks in the 4th Quarter
- David Tepper’s Top 5 Buys in the 4th Quarter
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