In this piece, we will take a look at the ten top rated stocks billionaires are loading up on. For more stocks, head on over to 5 Top-Rated Stocks Billionaires Are Loading Up On.

The U.S. economy has undergone several shocks over the past couple of years. This turmoil started after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019 which led to lockdowns and a broader downturn in economic activity in 2020. The slowdown led to investors fleeing away from the stock market due to the potential impact of lockdowns and stay at home orders on general productivity. They, however, returned back in droves after it became clear that the technology sector would be the biggest beneficiary of the chaos.

Then, as the world wearily looked towards normalcy in 2022, the after effects of expansionary fiscal policy during the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine dealt a massive inflationary blow to the economy. This blow led the Federal Reserve – which had initially mistaken the inflation as transitory – to aggressively increase interest rates in an attempt to curtail economic activity and reign in the beast of inflation.

Yet, as if all this wasn’t enough, 2023 started off with another crisis a.k.a. the debt ceiling. The specter (and spectacle?) of a default by the largest economy in the world almost scared the daylights out of both government officials and investors. Thankfully though, this crisis is over as legislation in Capitol Hill to raise the debt ceiling cleared Senate and Congress in June 2023.

With the debt ceiling out of the way, the only worry that remains is that of a potential recession. The Federal Reserve is quite optimistic that it can avoid this outcome. However, its fight just took a complicated turn in June when the labor data for May 2023 came in. This data shows that in May, 339,000 new jobs were added to the economy, smashing Wall Street estimates of 195,000 out of the park. Yet, at the same time, the unemployment percentage of 3.7% surpassed estimates of 3.5% – making sure that the latest report remained stuck smack in the middle when it comes to looking in the crystal ball to see what the Fed might do in its upcoming meeting later this month.

Amidst this chaos, some economists pointed to the upcoming data for the consumer price index (CPI) figures due in the second week of June, and others shared that don’t be fooled to believe that a recession is on its way. This voice belongs to the chief economist of the financial research firm FWDBONDS LLC who shared with Bloomberg:

Don’t be fooled by the jump in the unemployment rate from the April 3.4% best and lowest since the 1960s to 3.7% this month, along with the Household Survey saying employment actually fell 310K in May, this labor market is strong as a bull and the economy is miles away from the cliffs of recession.

… Whatever you want to call it, be patient, watch and wait, pause, or skip a meeting, the Fed can’t afford to pass on a rate hike at the June meeting as the labor market is just too darn strong. If you believe in economics textbooks at all, the labor market is too tight despite the odd three-tenths increase in the unemployment rate today. Skip it and kick the can down the road for another meeting later on this year is just bad policy. Bet on it.

Even then, as most folks struggle with inflation, hedge funds are busy making money. And as they say, to make money, you have to spend money. And despite the turmoil in the financial market, the funds are out with the big bucks. Just how big? Well, some are eager to guarantee top stock investing talent a stunning $120 million in payouts

So it would make sense to follow what the professionals are doing and see how they are placing their bets. Well, that’s what we’ve done in today’s piece but we have narrowed down our focus to only include hedge fund managers that are worth more than a billion dollars. And there are plenty of those in the industry, including several whose firms are making multimillion dollar payouts. Some hedge funds included in our list are Fisher Investments, Renaissance Technologies, D.E. Shaw, and Bridgewater Associates. And, some of their top stock picks are DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ).

Our Methodology

To compile our list of high-rated stocks that billionaires are buying, we first used a stock screener to sift out the top forty most valuable companies whose shares have a Strong Buy rating. Then, the number of billionaires that had invested in them was determined using Insider Monkey’s database of billionaire-owned stocks. Out of the resultant dataset 10 stocks with the highest number of billionaire investors were selection.

10 Top-Rated Stocks Billionaires Are Loading Up On

10. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited (NYSE:RDY)

Number of Billionaire Investors In Q1 2023: 6

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited (NYSE:RDY) is an Indian company headquartered in Hyderabad. The firm is a pharmaceutical company that operates in several portions of the drug supply chain. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited (NYSE:RDY)’s business model includes making and selling both prescription and over the counter medicines. Additionally, it also makes raw materials for pharmaceutical products and has a biologics division as well.

By the end of this year’s first quarter, 17 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had held a stake in Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited (NYSE:RDY). Out of these, the largest investor is billionaire Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies which owns 1.6 million shares that are worth $95 million.

Along with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited (NYSE:RDY), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) are some top-rated stocks that billionaires are piling into.

9. British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Number of Billionaire Investors In Q1 2023: 7

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. It is also one of the oldest tobacco companies since it was set up in 1802. The firm has a variety of cigarette brands in its portfolio and it also provides vaping products.

Insider Monkey took a look at 943 hedge funds for their first quarter of 2023 shareholdings to discover that 22 had invested in the tobacco company. Billionaire Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)’s largest shareholder with an $882 million stake.

8. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD)

Number of Billionaire Investors In Q1 2023: 8

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD) is a telecommunications company that is one of Europe’s most iconic brands. The firm was set up in 1984 and is headquartered in Newbury, the United Kingdom. It provides a wide variety of communications products and services and such as connectivity for mobile phones, data services, messaging services, data broadband services, and satellite connectivity. Alongside this, it also provides Internet of Things (IoT) products, security solutions, logistics management, and a breadth of other services.

After digging through 943 hedge funds for their March 2023 investments, Insider Monkey discovered that 28 had held a stake in the company. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:VOD)’s largest hedge fund investor is billionaire Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies which owns 18 million shares that are worth $201 million.

7. ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)

Number of Billionaire Investors In Q1 2023: 10

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO) is a Chinese freight company operating out of Shanghai, China. It provides freight delivery and forward services.

23 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had bought ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE:ZTO)’s shares during Q1 2023. Kerr Neilson’s Platinum Asset Management is its largest shareholder since it owns a $461 million stake that comes through 16 million shares.

6. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU)

Number of Billionaire Investors In Q1 2023: 10

New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU), as the name suggests, is a new age company. It is part of the handful of firms that are providing online education services. The firm operates primarily in China, is headquartered in Beijing, and was set up in 1993. Its services include test preparation courses, tutoring courses, English language classes, and more. Despite facing a shock that saw China restrict private education, seems like New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU) is still a favorite for both billionaires and analysts as they continue to provide it with strong ratings and cold, hard, cash.

31 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey’s database had invested in New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU) by the end of Q1 2023. Out of these, the largest investor is Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group with a $209 million stake.

DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM), New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (NYSE:EDU), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) are some top-rated stocks that are also top billionaire stock picks.

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Disclosure: None. 10 Top-Rated Stocks Billionaires Are Loading Up On is posted on Insider Monkey.