Apple Inc. (AAPL), Pfizer Inc. (PFE): Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Picks Slightly Beat The Market

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On the other hand, the poor quarter of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), whose stock declined by more than 15% over the quarter, did little to harm Fisher’s slightly market-beating returns, despite being the third-largest position in his portfolio, consisting of 11.26 million shares valued at $1.05 billion. Among other things, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is suffering from increased competition and declining profitability per issued credit card, while the stock is already considered to be trading at a high premium, which put a good deal of pressure on it throughout the past quarter. American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)’s performance was worse news for billionaire Warren Buffett, whose $14.11 billion position of 151.61 million shares accounts for nearly 13% of his equity portfolio, the highest exposure in terms of portfolio percentage among any of the institutional investors we track.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) was another of Fisher’s top picks that made large gains during the quarter, contributing slightly to that market outperformance. Shares of the drug company, one of the top healthcare picks among all funds we track, rose by 12.66% during the quarter. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is Fisher’s fifth-largest position, the 31.20 million shares it consists of being valued at $971.77 million, and representing exactly 2% of his equity portfolio.  Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management and Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital have the largest positions in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) after Fisher, whose position was the largest among the funds in our database.

Two of Fisher’s other top ten picks made large moves in opposite directions during the quarter, with his eighth-most valuable position in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD), rising by 8.79% after the home improvement retailer announced a merger with Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS). On the other hand, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Fisher’s tenth-largest position, fell by 11.84% during the first quarter after a very strong two-year run. Microsoft’s first earnings report of 2015 was seen as a disappointment, with earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2014 dipping to $0.71 from the $0.78 in EPS from a year ago.

Disclosure: None

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