RIT Capital Partners opened a new position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), buying 817,000 shares valued at $53.42 million. Its stake in the consumer products company accounted for 12.45% of the investment trust’s overall portfolio. The currency headwinds in 2015 have had an adverse affect on Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), as the company relies on emerging markets for a major portion of its sales. The company reported a year-over-year decline of 6.5% in its net sales during the second quarter of 2015. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) announced its second quarter results on July 30, reporting earnings per share of $0.70 over sales of $4.1 billion, matching the market’s expectations. After including after-tax charges, its EPS came out to be $0.63 for the quarter. The smart money was bullish on the stock of Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter, as 35 hedge funds held equity positions worth $1.77 billion at the end of the quarter. The aggregate holdings were half-a-percentage point down in comparison with the previous quarter, whereas the number of hedge funds was up by seven. The shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) dropped by 5.67% during that time, indicating additional purchases from hedge funds. Among the hedge funds in our database, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies held the largest stake in the company, comprising 12.59 million shares valued at $823.56 million. First Eagle Investment Management and Yacktman Asset Management held large positions in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) as well, of 4.81 million shares and 1.48 million shares, respectively.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) was another new addition to the equity portfolio of RIT Capital Partners, which held 547,000 shares worth $45.01 million. The Chinese e-commerce company has faced a decline in its share value primarily because of the sluggish economy in its home country. The shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) have declined by 35.07% year-to-date. The Chinese stock market faced its steepest fall since 2007 on Monday, with the country’s official news agency dubbing it “Black Monday.” Alibaba was among the shares being battered throughout that day. The hedge funds in our database trimmed their stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) during the second quarter by 18% to $4.77 billion as of June 30. It is important to consider that the shares of the e-commerce giant were down by only 1.17% during the second quarter, pointing towards a large sell-off from hedgies. Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management was the largest shareholder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in our database, holding 6.52 million shares valued at $536.73 million at the end of the second quarter. Viking Global and Eagle Capital Management were other primary stakeholders in the company, owning 6.04 million shares and 6.03 million shares, respectively.
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