Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund increased 17.6% (Institutional Shares) in the fourth quarter compared to a 14.2% gain for the Russell 1000 Growth Index and an 11.7% increase for the S&P 500 Index. For the full year, the fund appreciated 57.6% compared to 42.7% and 26.3% returns for the indexes, respectively. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund featured stocks such as Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a technology company that develops products to connect people. On February 22, 2024, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock closed at $486.13 per share. One-month return of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was 23.64%, and its shares gained 182.57% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has a market capitalization of $1.239 trillion.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Improving unit economics: Many of our companies were able to significantly expand margins during 2023 even though revenue growth decelerated for some of them, showcasing the power of their capital-light, recurring revenue business models, and their increased focus on efficiency. One public example that was at least partially responsible for driving other companies (especially in IT) to become more efficient is X (formerly Twitter), which reduced headcount by a whopping 80% after Elon Musk’s acquisition, despite growing user engagement. Another well-known example is Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), for which cost controls and margin expansion this year have been a key reason behind the stock’s outperformance (Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the year of efficiency). Other less well-known examples include the commerce platform, Shopify, which is expected to expand its operating margins from breakeven to 10.9% in 2023 thanks to the sale of its money-losing logistics business, and a 23% reduction in its workforce. What is even more impressive is that the company was able to accelerate innovation velocity (with a lower headcount) as well as improve sales and marketing productivity.”
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Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is in third position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was held by 242 hedge fund portfolios, up from 234 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in another article and shared the list of best momentum stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
