Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top Long-Term Picks: Pfizer Inc., Visa Inc., and More

A position in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was Fisher’s second-most valuable at the end of 2012, as he held 4.85 million shares worth $735.75 million at the time. Two years later, he had slashed his holding to 3.56 million shares, yet the value of the holding had increased to $932.58 million. That was the result of an exceptional two-year run for Visa Inc (NYSE:V), which was up by 79.36% over those two years (and up by 278% over the last four years).

Most recently, Visa Inc (NYSE:V) swooned investors with a double whammy in October, 2014, announcing a 20% hike to its dividend payments, bringing them to $0.48 per quarter. A couple of days later, Visa released its fiscal fourth quarter and full-year earnings results to impressed investors, as adjusted earnings were up 14% for the quarter, and 15% for the year, while the credit company showed strong international growth.

Fisher was also the top shareholder of Visa Inc (NYSE:V) among the funds that we track at the end of 2014, with billionaire Warren Buffett, another long-term shareholder of Visa, landing in second with 2.51 million shares.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) represented Fisher’s third-most valuable position at the end of 2012, as he owned 10.39 million shares worth $728.67 million. Fisher slightly increased the position to 10.42 million shares over the next two years, while the value of the holding surged to $1.09 billion, ranking as his second-most valuable pick after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, also enjoyed a strong two-year run over 2013 and 2014, advancing by 51.64%. The $273.99 billion market cap company was rumored to be close to a deal to purchase Pharmacyclics Inc (NASDAQ:PCYC) on March 4, the news sending both companies’ shares up, but a couple of days later AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) announced its plans to buy Pharmacyclics, which proved to be a jackpot deal for Baker Bros. Advisors, as one of the top shareholders of the company.

Fisher was again the largest shareholder at the end of 2014 among the funds we track, with Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management following with 8.61 million shares, a slight increase from the 8.40 million shares it held two years prior.

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