3. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS)
Viking Global’s Stake Value: $1,524,938,000
Percentage of Viking Global’s 13F Portfolio: 4.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86
T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) is the second largest American wireless network operator, partly owned by the German telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom. Viking Global added 29% to its existing position in T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) during the fourth quarter, holding a total of 13.1 million shares, worth $1.5 billion, representing 4.42% of the firm’s 13F portfolio.
T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) reported on January 6 that the Q4 new customer count totaled 1.8 million, as compared to estimates of 1.57 million new customers, bringing the company’s total customers to 108.7 million.
To improve its financial synergies and lay out an extensive 5G network around the United States, T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) announced on January 6 that it has signed a 12 year contract with Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI), which will allow T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) access to telecom towers and small cell locations.
Publishing its Q4 results on February 2, T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) reported earnings per share of $1.10, exceeding estimates by $1.01.
Daiwa analyst Jonathan Kees initiated coverage of T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) on December 23 with a Neutral rating and a $128 price target. T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) has been integrating an older company and execution risks remain high, and the market for 5G network is quite competitive.
Berkshire Hathaway is one of the leading T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) stakeholders from the 86 hedge funds that were bullish on the stock during the fourth quarter. Warren Buffet’s fund holds 5.2 million T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) shares worth approximately $670 million.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:
“The portfolio’s quality bias and valuation discipline have generated compelling returns over time with typically strong relative results in more challenging environments as it did through the first three quarters of 2020. However, that same quality bias tends to create a more challenging relative performance environment for the Strategy during periods of sharp economic acceleration, which tend to benefit stocks that are more commodity linked or of lower quality. This has been the case during the vaccine- and stimulus-driven rally experienced late last year and during the most recent quarter. Sectors that lagged in the quarter included communication services, where T-Mobile trailed after generating robust returns earlier in the recovery.”
