NYSE Euronext (NYX) & Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE) Favorites Of This $2B Hedge Fund

Over 30 years ago, Robert Emil Zoellner founded Alpine Associated Advisors, one of the hedge funds we track. Our research has shown that the best picks of the best hedge funds have serious market-beating potential; learn more about this phenomenon here. With that in mind, let’s take a gander at the five largest stock picks of Alpine, according to this week’s 13F filing with the SEC. Data is as of Q2.

As follows, the largest stake is held by Alpine in NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX). The position contains 4.5 million shares and is worth $187.7 million. During the second quarter of the year, the stake in NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) increased by 12% on the quarter, or 506,300 shares. Shares have a year-to-date return of over 34%.

In Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFE), Alpine disclosed ownership of 2.5 million shares, the value of the stake amounting to $186.9 million. This is a new position added during the second quarter of 2013. Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFE)’s stock returned more than 50% since the beginning of the year. By the acquisition of the stake in Life, Zoellner joined Larry Robbins and John Paulson in the biotech and medical research company.

The next on the list is Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCBK), represented in Alpine’s equity portfolio by a $161.9 million stake, involving about 17.7 million shares. During the April-June period, the position of Zoellner’s hedge fund in Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCBK) increased by 15% over the quarter, which is equivalent to about 2.4 million shares. With a year-to-date return of almost 18%, the stock of Hudson City Bancorp  sports a P/E of 23.6x.

A $137.9 million stake in Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE:GDI) is the next on the list. This has been a hedge fund favorite for the past three quarters. Alpine disclosed ownership of about 1.8 million shares, adding about 1.2 million shares during the second quarter of the year. The previous value of the Gardner Denver, Inc. (NYSE:GDI)’s stake in Alpine’s 13F portfolio was $47.2 million.

Lastly is Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD), which is another new position in the Alpine’s equity portfolio. The stake in Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD) involves almost 4.0 million shares, and is worth $137.9 million. Shares sport a year-to-date return of over 55% and trade at a forward P/E ratio of 11.2x and a PEG ratio of about 2.5. So, growth prospects may be a bit over valued.

On the whole, the equity portfolio of Alpine has a value of about $2.5 billion, and contains 71 positions, with the top 10 accounting for over 50% of the portfolio. In addition to Alpine, you should check out some other hedge funds from our database and their top picks, such as Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management, Thomas Bailard’s Bailard Inc., and Paul Tanico’s Castlerock Asset Management.

Disclosure: none