Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (BUD), QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM): New Stock Plays from First Eagle Investment Management

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC)

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) became an $82mm commitment by the firm, once again amounting to slightly over a million shares purchased. The railroad operator has seen near-linear growth in stock price so far this year, up over 25%; fellow rail stock CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX) edges out that impressive number with its own 28% gain. Ratings agencies from Jefferies to Deutsche Bank are singing the praises of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC) since the turn of the year, bestowing upgrade after upgrade on the stock. Billionaire Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group beefed up his position to 2.6mm shares recently; see his other holdings here.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT)

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) wraps up the bottom of our screen with almost 950,000 shares bought by First Eagle according to its Q1 13F. The fund’s position in the retailer tallied up to $64mm, 40% less than what First Eagle devoted to its top new holding, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD). Riding the wave of this bull market, Target has tacked on 20% since this time last year. Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has joined sixteen other retailers including Macy’s and Kohl’s in filing a lawsuit in late May, suing Visa and MasterCard over interchange fees that the payment companies charge. Billionaire Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors has a put position valued at almost $18mm.

Final thoughts

First Eagle Investment Management isn’t the number one fund on many investors’ collective radar, but it’s on Insider Monkey’s list of the 500 most elite hedge funds, and is therefore worth watching. A few of the fund’s largest new positions were detailed above, and from Target’s potential in a recovering economy to Norfolk Southern’s ability to outperform many of its railroad peers, there are many stocks worth watching. National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV), QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) are also intriguing plays as well.

Disclosure: none