Billionaire Andreas Halvorsen’s Stock Portfolio: 10 Top Stock Picks
In this article, we discuss Andreas Halvorsen and his top 10 stock picks. If you want to read about some more stocks in the Halvorsen portfolio, go directly to Andreas Halvorsen Stock Portfolio: 5 Top Stock Picks.
Andreas Halvorsen, the billionaire chief of Viking Global, is a Viking in the true sense of the word, hailing from Norway and serving in the Norwegian military for a short period. The world of finance is a lot different than the Norwegian Naval Academy, but Halvorsen has managed to hack both. His net worth is close to $6 billion and the value of the 13F equity portfolio of his fund, at the end of September 2023, was in excess of $24 billion, with sizable stakes in firms like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Halvorsen earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the Williams College in the United States in 1986. He also has a postgraduate business degree from Stanford. He got his first taste in finance while working for Morgan Stanley straight out of college. Afterwards, he moved to Tiger Management under Julian Robertson, one of the biggest hedge funds in the world at the time. In 1999, he left the fund to co-found his own investment firm alongside David Ott and Brian Olson.
Even though Ott and Olson left the firm in 2010 and 2005 respectively, Halvorsen has marched on to even greater success. In August this year, news agency Reuters reported that Halvorsen was planning to reopen the long/short flagship fund of Viking Global for new capital. In 2011, Halvorsen had closed the fund because it had become too big to explore profitable trading opportunities. The move comes as equity funds become leading gainers. Per latest figures, the value of the equity portfolio at Viking increased by $200 million in the past three months.
Our Methodology
These were picked from the investment portfolio of Viking Global at the end of the third quarter of 2023. In order to provide readers with a more comprehensive overview of the companies, the analyst ratings for each firm are mentioned alongside other details. A database of around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the second quarter of 2023 was used to quantify the popularity of each stock in the hedge fund universe.
Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global
Andreas Halvorsen Stock Portfolio: Top Stock Picks
10. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) operates as a high-tech industrial company. Regulatory filings show that Viking Global owned 7.9 million shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) at the end of September 2023 worth $884 million, representing 3.58% of the portfolio of the fund.
On October 26, investment advisory Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) stock and raised the price target to $143 from $141, appreciating the third quarter earnings report of the firm.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) with 41 million shares worth more than $4.6 billion.
Just like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is one of the top stocks in the portfolio of Andreas Halvorsen.
9. APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG) provides safety, specialty, and industrial services. Regulatory filings show that Viking Global owned 34 million shares of APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG) at the end of September 2023 worth $886 million, representing 3.59% of the portfolio of the fund.
On November 2, APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG) posted earnings for the third quarter of 2023, reporting earnings per share of $0.48, beating market estimates by $0.03. The revenue over the period was $1.7 billion, up close to 3% year-on-year.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 38 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.7 billion in APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG), compared to 41 in the preceding quarter worth $1.4 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Greenhaven Road Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“APi Group Corporation (NYSE:APG) – The investment thesis remains the same: APi Group has a wonderful asset-light fire/life safety business whose customers are legally required to purchase their type of services. This business has grown organically at mid- to high single digits with incremental growth coming from tuck-in acquisitions. With very low customer churn for their non-discretionary services, APi revenues and earnings should grow with the passage of time, and 2024 earnings should benefit from the resolution of supply chain issues and the company’s full digestion of its large acquisition, Chubb. Our returns should come from a combination of improved earnings through organic growth, small acquisitions, and margin improvement. The real “juice,” if there is any, will come from multiple expansion, as there are several asset-light non-cyclical business trading at >2x APG’s multiple.”
8. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 225
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a tech firm that owns and runs social media platforms. Latest data shows that Viking Global owned 3 million shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) at the end of September 2023 worth $917 million, representing 3.72% of the portfolio of the fund.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has been ramping up investment in the artificial intelligence space over the past few months. On November 17, it announced Emu Video and Emu Edit, AI-based video calling features that carry out tasks based on text instructions.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 225 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $30 billion in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), compared to 220 in the preceding quarter worth $25 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Weitz Investment Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“As for other quarterly contributors, Alphabet, Inc., (GOOG) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) added to their exceptional year-to-date returns. Meta Platforms and Alphabet were the true year-to-date standouts. After steep declines in 2022, both stocks rebounded sharply due to a combination of solid fundamentals, disciplined operational execution, and improved sentiment. Despite outsized gains and attention, we think both Alphabet and Meta remain undervalued.”
7. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) operates as a diversified healthcare firm. Securities filings reveal that Viking Global owned 1.8 million shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) at the end of the third quarter of 2023 worth $936 million, representing 3.80% of the portfolio.
On October 23, investment advisory Mizuho maintained a Buy rating on UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stock and raised the price target to $584 from $549, backing the firm to achieve long-term guidance goals.
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, 111 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10 billion in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), compared to 116 in the preceding quarter worth $11 billion.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Madison Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The top contributors in the quarter were Eli Lilly, Jacobs, Alphabet, Costco, and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). UnitedHealth responded well to a solid second quarter, with a better medical loss ratio driving the better-than-expected results. Additionally, UNH modestly raised guidance for the full year.
We updated the sustainable scorecard for UnitedHealth Group. The company continues to have Above Average Corporate Governance with a clear policy on separating the roles of the Chair of the Board and the CEO. We also rate the company Above Average on Social factors due to its clear cybersecurity, privacy, and data governance policies. The company continues to diversify its top management positions, where 40% of top management positions are held by women, up from 37% in 2020. We reduced our Environment rating to Average from Above Average as the company has significantly expanded its footprint in the last few years by acquiring local providers. The company is at the beginning of its journey to source renewable electricity for 100% of its operations by 2030.”
6. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 300
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based technology company. Latest 13F filings show that Viking Global owned over 3 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at the end of September 2023 worth $954 million, representing 3.87% of the portfolio.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares have rallied in recent weeks after the firm showcased two in-house processors, one focused on artificial intelligence and the other on cloud computing, at a tech conference on November 15.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Texas-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with 24 million shares worth more than $7.8 billion.
Along with Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the top stocks in the portfolio of Andreas Halvorsen.
In its Q3 2023 investor letter, Jackson Peak Capital, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)/Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) merger arbitrage came to a successful conclusion with the court denying the FTC’s preliminary injunction request. The deal subsequently received approval from the UK CMA and closed in October. The ATVI position was an example of “staying around the hoop” of a significant arb opportunity. At first, the position led to a small loss in Q2 when the UK CMA initially blocked the deal in April, but we stayed close to the case, analyzed the FTC trial and scaled up the ATVI position as it became apparent FTC had a weak case, meaning the probability of the deal going through was mispriced by the market since the companies would likely find a solution to work with the UK CMA (only global regulator who had an issue) if the FTC lost.”
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Disclosure. None. Andreas Halvorsen Stock Portfolio: 10 Top Stock Picks is originally published on Insider Monkey.