In this article, we discuss Bill Gates’ 2022 portfolio and 4 stocks to sell. If you want to read our detailed analysis of Gates’ hedge fund performance, stock selection and history, go directly to Bill Gates’ 2022 Portfolio: 7 Stocks to Sell.
4. Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
Reduction In Stake: 69%
Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which operates and leases wireless communication infrastructure such as cell towers and fiber cables across the United States. According to his 13F portfolio for the first quarter, Gates’ owned 1.42 million shares of the firm at a value of $262.1 million. This is down from 4.56 million shares a quarter ago.
On April 22, analyst Ric Prentiss of research firm Raymond James maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) shares, and raised the price target to $206 from $184. He sees US carriers becoming more active on cell towers through 2022 and 2023, and sees strong growth in tower infrastructure for the next several years.
Billionaire Ken Fisher increased his stake in Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) by 6% in the first quarter of 2022, making his fund Fisher Asset Management the firm’s largest shareholder with a $509 million stake.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, investment firm ClearBridge Investments talked about Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI). Here is what the fund said:
“U.S. communications company Crown Castle International (NYSE:CCI) was the largest detractor from quarterly performance. Crown Castle is the leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure in the U.S. with a portfolio of approximately 40,000 towers. The stock underperformed as, driven by rising interest rates, investors rotated away from defensive into more value-oriented sectors. Communications infrastructure remains attractive, however, as companies continue to deploy greater capital spend to support the strong tailwinds from 5G.”
3. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Reduction In Stake: 100%
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) is a railway company headquartered in Calgary, and operates a transcontinental freight railway network roughly 13,000 miles long. Bill Gates’ hedge fund sold off all the firm’s shares at the end of Q1 2022.
But major hedge funds were bullish on Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) shares at the close of the fourth quarter of 2021, where 55 reported bullish bets on the company shares, as compared to 38 hedge funds a quarter earlier.
Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen on April 22 reiterated a ‘Market Perform’ rating on Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) shares, and decreased the price target to C$100 from C$105. The analyst lowered the price target on the back of concerns over the slowing economic backdrop, and a weaker-than-expected start to the year. Hansen notes the firm’s Q1 performance suffered on account of stiff weather, volume and cost-related headwinds.
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) posted an EPS of $0.52 for the first quarter, which missed estimates by $0.04. Revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter also underperformed consensus figures by $40.1 million.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE:CP) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“The other major headwind to relative performance in the quarter was Canadian Pacific Railway. The stock has been a strong performer for the Strategy but negative sentiment around its bidding war for U.S. rail operator Kansas City Southern has weighed on the stock since late May. As a result, the cyclical uptick we expected from the company has been masked by the takeover. Indeed, we have been frustrated by the muted performance among Canadian Pacific and other recently added positions in our structural bucket of growth companies with more cyclical business models or that are undergoing a restructuring that should lead to a step change improvement in earnings. As more regions reopen from COVID-19 and spending rebounds, we expect better performance from our structural names, including Airbus and hospitality and food service provider Compass.”
2. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Reduction In Stake: 100%
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock was completely sold off from the portfolio of Bill Gates in the first quarter of 2022. The tech giant was reported in the portfolio of 158 hedge funds according to Insider Monkey’s Q4 2021 database. This shows a positive trend from the previous quarter where the number of bullish hedge funds bets on the firm stood at 156.
On April 27, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill lowered the firm’s price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) to $3,400 from $3,600 and reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating on the company shares. The analyst noted that the firm’s Search and Cloud business saw healthy growth, but YouTube advertising revenue missed consensus estimates for three consecutive quarters with headwinds looking set to continue into the next quarter. He lowered his 2022 estimates for gross and net revenue, operating margin and EPS after the company announced its Q1 results.
For Q1 2022, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) posted EPS of $24.62, falling below consensus estimates by $0.93. Revenue of $68 billion for the quarter recorded a jump of 22.95% year-on-year, and also outperformed estimates by $124.6 million.
Investment firm Baron Funds talked about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2022 investor letter, stating:
“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%.”
1. Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 17
Reduction In Stake: 100%
Bill Gates completely sold off his stake in Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV) during Q1 2022. The Mexican firm provides TV, cable and content subscription services in the Spanish language around the world.
On March 18, JPMorgan analyst Marcelo Santos upgraded Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV) to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’, with a price target of $15.50, up from $9. Santos sees the firm well-positioned to capture market share in an industry worth $13 billion per annum, and cites its leadership in Spanish-language content along with a solid portfolio of news and sports.
At the close of Q4 2021, 17 hedge funds held positions worth $669 million in Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV). This is up from 16 hedge funds in the preceding quarter with $843 million worth of stakes in the company. The most prominent shareholder of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV) was Chicago-based Harris Associates, which held a $710.8 million stake in the firm at the close of Q1 2022.
Oakmark Funds, an investment firm, mentioned several stocks in its Q2 2021 investor letter, and Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (NYSE:TV) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Grupo Televisa, a media company headquartered in Mexico and the world’s largest producer of Spanish-language content, was a top contributor for the second quarter. Grupo Televisa’s share price jumped when the company revealed that it would merge its content and media assets with Univision. In a call with shareholders, CEO of Televisa, Alfonso de Angoitia, and CEO of Univision, Wade Davis, provided details on the $4.8 billion agreement, which combines these leading media businesses in the two largest Spanish-speaking markets in the world. Overall, we think the deal makes strategic sense as streaming is the future in television, and the new company will very likely become the dominant Spanish-language streaming service. There will also be synergies from combining the two businesses, which should improve profitability versus when they were stand-alone businesses. In addition, over the long term, we believe consolidation in the media sector will continue, providing an opportunity for the new entity to partner with a larger company. Aside from the strategic merits, we believe Televisa received an attractive valuation for its content business as the $4.8B value was higher than our internal estimates. We commend management for this transaction.”
You can also take a look at 10 Best 3D Printing Stocks to Buy Now and 15 Largest Biotech Companies in the world
