In this article, we will look at 5 blue-chip stocks to buy according to billionaire Ken Fisher. If you want to read about Ken Fisher’s investment philosophy and his hedge fund’s performance, you can go to 10 Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Fisher.
5. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $3,234,635,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 1.9%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 114
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is best known for its industry-leading CRM platform and cloud-based software applications. As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 15.2 million shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) which brings its stake in the company to $3.23 billion. The investment covers 1.9% of Ken Fisher’s 13F portfolio and the stock is ranked sixth among Fisher Asset Management’s top 13F holdings. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the best blue-chip stocks to buy according to billionaire Ken Fisher.
On June 2, Loop Capital analyst Yun Kim cut his price target on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) to $175 from $225 and reiterated a Hold rating on the shares.
On May 31, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced earnings for the fiscal first quarter of 2023. The company reported earnings per share of $0.98 and exceeded estimates by $0.04. Moreover, the company’s revenue for the quarter came in at $7.41 billion, up 24.28% year over year, and outperformed Wall Street consensus by $29.45 million.
At the end of Q1 2022, 114 hedge funds held stakes in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM). This is compared to 110 hedge funds in Q4 2021.
Vulcan Value Partners mentioned Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its first-quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Salesforce.com Inc. is the dominant provider of customer relationship management software and technology. Salesforce has high retention rates, pricing power, high free cash flow, and a competitive moat. The company continues to execute well. Margins decreased slightly during the fourth quarter but continue to be on path for material expansion over the long term. Salesforce is seeing increased spending as employees are returning to the office, and we believe the global pandemic has only improved its prospects.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $5,634,988,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 3.32%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 160
In the first quarter of 2022, Fisher Asset Management raised its stakes in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5%, bringing them to $5.63 billion. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Fisher Asset Management’s top-fourth 13F holding and covers 3.32% of Ken Fisher’s investment portfolio. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is among the top blue-chip companies billionaire Ken Fisher is bullish on.
On April 26, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported earnings for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. The company generated a revenue of $68.01 billion for the quarter, up 22.95% year over year, and outperformed expectations by $124.63 million. The company registered an EPS of $24.62 but missed estimates by $0.93.
Shortly after the company’s earnings release, Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris slashed his price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $3,000 from $3,350 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.
At the close of Q1 2022, 160 hedge funds were long Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with stakes worth $29.58 billion. This is compared to 158 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $36.62 billion.
Here is what Baron Funds had to say about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its “Baron Global Advantage Fund” first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“We have modestly reduced the size of our position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (from 6.5% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 to 5.3% as of the end of the first quarter of 2022), after the stock rallied 64% in 2021 and continued outperforming during the first quarter, declining just 3%.”
3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $7,703,509,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 4.54%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 271
At the close of the first quarter of 2022, 271 hedge funds were bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and held stakes worth $48.02 billion in the company. This is compared to 279 hedge funds in the previous quarter with stakes worth $49.16 billion.
This April, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced earnings for the fiscal first quarter of 2022. The company reported a loss per share of $0.38 and missed estimates by $0.80. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported quarterly revenue of $116.44 billion, up 7.30% year over year, and missed Wall Street estimates by $67.09 million.
This June, Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan cut his price target on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to $170 from $185 but maintained a Buy rating on the shares.
As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 2.36 million shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) which amounts to a stake value of $7.70 billion. The investment covers 4.54% of Ken Fisher’s 13F portfolio and places the stock third among Fisher Asset Management’s top 13F holdings. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is one of the blue-chip stocks billionaire Ken Fisher is bullish on.
Polen Capital recently published its “Polen Global Growth Fund” first-quarter 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm had to say about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN):
“Amazon has done a terrific job managing through the pandemic, in our view. Many companies struggled to pivot their business model during COVID-19, which represented an existential threat. Amazon had the opposite problem – a surge in demand. The company leaned into this by entering an extremely heavy investment cycle, doubling its fulfillment network and headcount over the past two years. To put this into context, Amazon added 273,000 employees in the last half of 2021 on top of over 400,000 employees the prior year. The company has also made significant Capital Expenditures, adding IT infrastructure for AWS and transportation capacity during this period. This all took place in the face of inflation related to wage increases and higher pricing from third-party carriers supporting the company’s fulfillment network. These heavy investments paid off—AWS grew 40% year over year, reached a $71B annual run rate, and total company revenue posted a two-year annual compounded growth rate of 25%. We believe this heavy investment cycle, like Amazon’s previous ones, will continue to support ongoing growth and will further separate Amazon from its competition while also providing the ability to increase margins through economies of scale. With respect to the margins specifically, AWS and Advertising – two fast-growing businesses – continue to contribute greater operating earnings to the overall business. We believe management has done an excellent job managing through this period and that the company is even stronger today than when COVID-19 first began to spread around the world.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $8,593,198,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 5.06%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 259
On April 26, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted another strong quarter in a series of strong quarters when it released earnings for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022. The company reported a revenue of $49.36 billion, up 18.35% from the comparable quarter in 2021. The company’s earnings per share came in at $2.22, ahead of Wall Street expectations by $0.02.
On June 10, Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow lowered his price target on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to $335 from $363 but maintained an Overweight rating on the shares. Lenschow noted that investors are bullish on Azure in case of investing in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and said that in addition to Azure, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has other compelling features such as a revenue of above $200 billion.
At the close of Q1 2022, 259 hedge funds disclosed ownership of stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). These funds held collective stakes worth $65.63 billion in the company.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the second biggest holding of Fisher Asset Management. In Q1 2022, Fisher Asset Management increased its stakes in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4%, bringing them to $8.59 billion. As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns 27.87 million shares of the company and is also the top shareholder in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the best blue-chip stocks to buy according to Ken Fisher.
Here is what Polen Capital had to say about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its “Polen Global Growth Fund” first-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“Microsoft’s business is firing on all cylinders and continues to enjoy an acceleration in their respective fundamentals because of the increase in digitization around the world. Nearly every company today is searching for ways to become more digital, and both Microsoft and Accenture are positioned to provide many of the solutions these companies seek. This inflection in fundamentals was not lost on the market, and each business’s stock performed exceptionally well in 2021. In fact, they represented two of the three top absolute performers for the Global Growth Portfolio last year. As a result, their respective stocks are currently more fully priced. As such, we lowered Microsoft from our largest position within the Portfolio. We maintain high conviction in Microsoft and plan to own it for many years, but recognize the increase in its prices.”
1. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Fisher Asset Management’s Stake Value: $11,166,276,000
Percentage of Fisher Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 6.58%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the biggest holding of Fisher Asset Management as of the first quarter of 2022. As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns more than 63.94 million shares of the company, which amounts to a stake of $11.16 billion and covers 6.58% of Ken Fisher’s 13F portfolio.
As of this June, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has an Overweight rating and a $195 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares.
On April 28, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) delivered strong financial results for the fiscal second quarter of 2022 and topped Wall Street expectations. The company registered an EPS of $1.52 and beat estimates by $0.09. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported revenue of $97.28 billion, up 8.59% year over year, and beat expectations by $3.29 billion.
At the close of Q1 2022, 131 hedge funds disclosed ownership of stakes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The total value of these funds’ stakes was estimated at $182 billion.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its fourth-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Despite these mixed emerging growth results, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed the benchmark due to resilience among our secular and structural growth holdings. The bulk of these contributions came from U.S. mega-cap growth stocks Apple and Microsoft which continued to uniquely act both offensively and defensively as they have through most of the pandemic.”
You can also take a look at 10 Blue Chip Stocks in Warren Buffett’s Portfolio and Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top 10 High Dividend Stock Picks.
