Billionaire Ken Griffin’s Dividend Picks Include McDonald’s

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM), which markets the Philip Morris brand internationally following the split into PMI and Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO), was another of Griffin’s dividend picks. Cigarette companies are cash flow machines and in Philip Morris’s case the dividend yield is 3.7%; in general, higher yields but fewer growth opportunities can be found if investors look for U.S. focused companies instead. Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported a position of 5.7 million shares at the beginning of January (research more stocks Fisher likes).

Citadel nearly doubled the size of its position in Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP), a developer and manufacturer of semiconductors with a market capitalization of $7.2 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the company’s revenue was up 26% versus a year earlier but net income was down strongly in percentage terms. Even with the dividend close to 4%, 9% of the total shares outstanding are held short signifying a good deal of skepticism about the company. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital more than doubled its own stake in Microchip Technology and owned 1.8 million shares according to its own 13F.

The fund disclosed ownership of almost 3 million shares of Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN), which invests in senior living communities and health care facilities. The real estate investment trust pays the highest yield of the stocks on this list, at 4.6%; with a beta of 0.7 its stock price does tend to move in line with market indices but there is at least some protection from general economic conditions. Renaissance Technologies, whose founder Jim Simons is now a billionaire, had close to 1 million shares in its portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter (find Renaissance’s favorite stocks).

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.