5 Software Stocks to Buy Now According to Jim Davidson’s Silver Lake Partners

2. VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW)

Silver Lake Partners’ Stake Value: $4,872,849,000
Percentage of Silver Lake Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 22.94%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) is a software firm providing solutions that assist businesses to upgrade their technology and manage cloud-based IT resources. VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced an extended relationship on March 16 to help clients with app modernization and cloud transition.

50 hedge funds in our database held stakes in VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 31 funds in the third quarter.

Silver Lake Partners added VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) to its portfolio in the fourth quarter by buying 42.05 million shares. With a $4.87 billion investment, Silver Lake Partners is the company’s largest shareholder.

On February 25, Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz cut his price objective on VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) from $135 to $125 and maintained a Neutral rating on the shares. In a research note to investors, Moskowitz stated that the firm posted a moderate revenue increase in Q4, despite billings growth being lower than projected.

ClearBridge Investments, in its third quarter 2021 investor letter, mentioned VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW). Here is what the fund said:

“To make room for Netflix and better concentrate the Strategy in our highest-conviction names, we exited positions in software makers VMware. VMware, best known for its system visualization software, is in the earlier stages of an on-premise to cloud transition that could add volatility to growth and cash flow in coming years. At the same time, the company also recently announced several key leadership changes and will have higher financial leverage following the upcoming spinoff from Dell — expected in the fourth quarter.”