Apple Inc. (AAPL), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL), More: See What This $36 Billion Hedge Fund Was Buying in Q3

Adage Capital Management is a Boston-based hedge fund founded in 2001 by Phil Gross and Robert Atchinson. As of June 30, Adage’s public equity portfolio has a worth of $36.31 billion. In this article, we’ll discuss five stocks which Adage Capital was loading up on during the third quarter, which include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC), and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF). 

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

– Shares Owned by Adage Capital Management (as of September 30): 7.69 million

– Value of Adage Capital Management’s Holding (as of September 30): $870.24 million

Adage Capital Management bought 227,900 shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter. The fund concluded the period with an $870.24 million stake in the company, owning over 7.69 million shares. After the surprising victory of Donald Trump in the presidential elections, Apple’s stock sank due to rumors regarding Trump’s plan of instituting a 10% repatriation tax and putting a limit to offshore manufacturing to create jobs at home. Apple’s stock has gained about 3% year-to-date. The company earned $1.67 per share on $46.9 billion in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, more than the consensus estimate of $1.65 in EPS and $46.89 billion in revenue. The company expects its fiscal first quarter 2017 revenue to come in at between $76 billion and $78 billion, while the consensus stands at $74.98 billion. A total of 116 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the second quarter.

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

– Shares Owned by Adage Capital Management (as of September 30): 484,261 Class C Shares

– Value of Adage Capital Management’s Holding (as of September 30): $376.41 million

Adage Capital upped its stake in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9% in the third quarter. At the end of September, the fund owned 484,261 class C shares of the internet company, valued at about $376.41 million. The stock is now down by 0.64% this year after a recent slump. In the third quarter, Alphabet earned $9.06 per share, topping the consensus estimate of $8.64, while revenue was $22.25 billion for the quarter, also edging past the average estimate of $22.05 billion. Last month, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein upped his price target on Alphabet to $1000 from $970 and reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating on the company. Out of over 745 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 126 were long Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s class C shares at the end of June, down from 142 funds a quarter earlier.

Related Read: Top Google Searches in 2015

On the next page, we will discuss three other important stock picks held by Adage on September 30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

– Shares Owned by Adage Capital Management (as of September 30): 5.15 million

– Value of Adage Capital Management’s Holding (as of September 30): $321.28 million

Adage Capital more than doubled its stake in New Jersey-based medical company Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, ending the period with a total of 5.15 million shares of the company. The aggregate value of the position stood at over $321.28 million on September 30. Merck (NYSE:MRK) recently posted third quarter earnings, according to which the company earned $1.07 a share on $10.5 billion in revenue, above the forecasts of $0.99 in EPS and $10.18 billion in revenue. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management owns over 6.82 million shares of Merck as of the end of the third quarter.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc(NYSE:PNC)

– Shares Owned by Adage Capital Management (as of September 30): 2.05 million

– Value of Adage Capital Management’s Holding (as of September 30): $185.13 million

At the end of September, Adage Capital reported ownership of over 2.05 million PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC) shares, which shows a 161% increase in the fund’s stake in the Pennsylvania-based financial services company. The net worth of this stake was $185.13 million at the end of September. Last week, RBC Capital Markets reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating for PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:PNC) with a price target of $95. The stock is up by over 11% so far this year. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital owns about 1.29 million shares of PNC at the end of the third quarter.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

– Shares Owned by Adage Capital Management (as of September 30): 6.57 million

– Value of Adage Capital Management’s Holding (as of September 30): $160.09 million

Adage Capital loaded up on CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) in the third quarter, increasing its position in the company by 341%, concluding the quarter with $160.09 million of the company’s shares. UBS recently upgraded CF Industries Holdings to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’, and has a price target of $28 on it. In the third quarter, the Illinois-based fertilizer producer reported a net loss of $30 million, mainly due to the ongoing slump in the agricultural sector amid declining commodity prices. The stock has lost over 31% year-to-date. David Cohen and Harold Levy’s Iridian Asset Management has over 4.53 million shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF) as of the end of the third quarter.

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