Billionaire Barry Rosenstein’s Equity Picks Posted a 3.8% Drop In Q1

#3 Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

 – Shares Owned by JANA Partners (as of December 31): 9.92 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $550.6 Million

During the fourth trimester JANA uplifted its Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) holding by a hefty 28%. The bet hasn’t paid off yet, as the stock traded nearly sideways in the first quarter. The software giant recently partnered with Toyota to deliver cutting edge artificial intelligence features to the company’s cars. Moreover, Microsoft also recently formed a partnership with R3, a group of 43 financial institutions, with regards to the development of blockchain technology, which has gained considerable traction because of the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Jeffrey Ubben‘s ValueAct Capital holds more than 56.62 million shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as of December 31.

  #2 Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA)

 – Shares Owned by JANA Partners (as of December 31): 12.3 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.04 Billion

JANA has held a stake in the largest U.S drugstore chain since the third quarter of 2013, a holding that was trimmed by 10% during the fourth quarter. On a year-to-date basis the stock is up by 1.36%, while the company awaits regulatory approval for its $9.4 billion acquisition of Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD). However, just like the rest of the pharma industry, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) has been facing declining gross margins for the last two years, mostly owing to lower reimbursement rates from health insurers and the government. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global was cooling on Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA)’s future prospects during the fourth quarter, as it reduced its stake in the company by 46% to 12.77 million shares.

 #1 ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG)

 – Shares Owned by JANA Partners (as of December 31): 28.63 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of December 31): $1.21 Billion

Shares of the $20 billion packaged food company, in which JANA cut its stake by 6% during the fourth trimester, have risen by about 7.7% so far this year. The firm took an activist stake in the company in June of last year and shares are up by more than 21% since then. ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) is currently working on a $300 million restructuring plan, the savings from which are expected to be fully realized by 2018. The company also recently announced that it too will place labels on foods that have GMOs in them, joining the growing number of food companies in this category. Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group holds about 5.57 million shares of ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) as of the end of 2015.

Disclosure: None