Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Artisan Value Fund”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The Funds’ Investor Class: ARTLX, Advisor Class: APDLX, and Institutional Class: APHLX returned -3.54%, -3.50%. and 3.50%, respectively, in Q1 vs, 2.10% return for the Russell 1000® Value Index. Performance was impacted by a market favoring momentum-driven stocks over quality factors, alongside company-specific setbacks. In Q1 2026, the US equity market showed mixed results: large-cap indices declined, while mid- and small-cap stocks gained modestly, reflecting a gradual broadening in market participation. Volatility increased, driven by concerns over artificial intelligence and private credit, and further escalated due to the outbreak of conflict in Iran. Despite uncertainty, the Fund focuses on identifying companies that can create value through cycles, particularly where market dislocations provide attractive entry points. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Artisan Value Fund highlighted stocks like Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO). Headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) is a leading alcoholic beverage company. On May 22, 2026, Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) stock closed at $86.13 per share. One-month return of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) was 8.42%, and its shares lost 21.13% over the past 52 weeks. Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) has a market capitalization of $47.89 billion.
Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“In addition to sales of Humana and PayPal, we also exited our positions in social technology leader Meta Platforms and beverages company Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO). We sold Diageo, in part, because the alcoholic beverage category remains extremely challenged and the company’s balance sheet has weakened as operating results have stalled in recent years.”
Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 30 hedge fund portfolios held Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 34 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) and shared ByteTree Asset Management’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
