Lansdowne Partners’ Top Picks Heading Into 2016 Dominated by Large-Caps

#3. Visa Inc (NYSE:V)

– Shares Owned by Lansdowne Partners (as of December 31): 17.13 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.32 Billion

An increased stake in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) ranked as one of Lansdowne’s most bullish moves during the fourth quarter, as it hiked its position by 20%. The stake accounted for more than 9% of Lansdowne’s equity portfolio and made the firm the largest shareholder of the stock in our database, trailed by Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, which held 14.78 million shares on December 31. Shares of Visa Inc (NYSE:V) have lost more than 5.5% year-to-date; however, they were up by more than 2% on Thursday after the company announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with China UnionPay to cooperate on payment security and innovation, and financial inclusion in China.

#2. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

– Shares Owned by Lansdowne Partners (as of December 31): 20.16 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.33 Billion

Lansdowne Partners was also the largest shareholder of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in our system, boosting its stake by 7% to more than 20 million shares. Once again, Fisher Asset Management held the second-largest stake, owning 13.98 million JPMorgan shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was among the 20 most popular stocks as of December 31 among the investors that we track, with 100 of those investors long the stock. The stock has not performed very well this year, however, having lost 12.4% year-to-date, underperforming the S&P 500, which has tumbled by 4.4%. On Tuesday, the company said it may have lost up to $2.8 billion on loans made to energy companies; in addition, the fall in other commodity prices could cost the company another $350 million from defaults by mining and materials companies.

#1. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

– Shares Owned by Lansdowne Partners (as of December 31): 29.34 Million

– Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.65 Billion

Finally, there’s Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), the fund’s largest bet for the second consecutive quarter. Lansdowne also retained its spot as the largest investor of the stock, increasing its stake by 6% during the fourth quarter. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is one of the few large-cap companies whose stock has posted gains in 2016, of about 2.6%, mostly driven by a revenue beat, the declaration of an increase in its quarterly dividend payments to $0.28, and a $250 million investment in Universal Pictures made by China’s Perfect World Pictures, to help fund up to 50 films over the next five years.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article.