The 5 Dow Stocks Billionaires Like The Most

#2 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

A total of one more billionaire had Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in their portfolio at the end of the second quarter relative to the previous one, as the number of billionaires invested in the company increased to 14 by the end of June. The value of these billionaires’ stakes grew to $7.14 billion from $5.75 billion during the June quarter. Microsoft’s shares have climbed by nearly 11% since the company released its fiscal 2016 first quarter results on October 22 and have soared by 20% since the end of the second quarter. The launch of the Windows 10 operating system has been quite successful, with roughly 110 million active devices now using the software. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.67 on revenues of $21.7 billion, outpacing analysts’ estimates of EPS of $0.59 and revenues of $21.0 billion. Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct Capital was the top stockholder of Microsoft Corporation within our database at the end of the second quarter, holding a stake of 75.27 million shares.

#1 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) represents billionaires’ favorite Dow stock as of the end of the second quarter. However, the number of billionaires with positions in the tech giant decreased to 15 from 16 quarter-over-quarter. Similarly, the value of these positions decreased to $12.16 billion from $13.05 billion over this time span. Apple’s stock has lost 6% since the end of June, but is still nearly 7% in the green year-to-date. Nevertheless, the stock is currently trading at a forward P/E ratio of 11.71, compared to the 18.41 ratio for the S&P 500. This points to more upside for the stock in the years ahead considering the remarkable performance of the company’s business. It appears that Apple’s reliance on its iPhone sales can explain the cheap forward P/E ratio, as investors fear that the tech giant will not be able to generate as much sales from its iPhones in the future as it is at the moment. Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital LP believes in the future potential of Apple Inc., reporting an ownership stake of 52.76 million Apple shares as of the end of June.

Disclosure: None