In this article, we discuss 10 stocks Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors is investing in.
Ancora Advisors is an Ohio-based investment advisory firm that specializes in customized portfolio management for individual investors, high net worth individuals, investment companies (mutual funds), and institutions such as pension/profit sharing plans, corporations and unions. Its chairman and chief executive officer, Frederick DiSanto, holds a B.A degree in Management Science from Case Western Reserve University and an M.B.A from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management.
Prior to joining Ancora Advisors, Frederick DiSanto served as the executive vice president and manager of the Fifth Third Bank’s Investment Advisors Division overseeing investment management, private banking and trust, and banking services. He served as president and chief operating officer of Maxus Investment Group from 1998 until December of 2000, where he was responsible for the marketing, sales and financial operations. He also served as managing partner at Gelfand Partners Asset Management from 1991 until its merger with Maxus Investment Group in 1997.
According to Ancora Advisors’ 13F portfolio, DiSanto manages more than $3.82 billion in investments, as of the end of June. DiSanto’s investment portfolio is diversified across 13 sectors, of which the technology, financial and consumer goods sectors are notable, while the industrials sector is the largest.
Some of the largest holdings in Frederick DiSanto’s Q2 investment portfolio include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), among others discussed in more detail below.
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With this context in mind, let us now take a look at the 10 stocks Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors is investing in. We used Ancora Advisors’ Q2 portfolio for this list, ranking the stocks according to the value of each holding in the firm’s portfolio as of June this year.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors Is Investing In These 10 Stocks
10. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $37.39 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.97%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 112
The Walt Disney Company is a global mass media and entertainment conglomerate. Headquartered in California, the company is the best-known purveyor of family entertainment in the world, operating through The Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar and Disney World segments. The company is expected to grow earnings by 37.5% over the coming year, well ahead of the market’s expected 14.5%.
Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors holds 212,754 shares of the company. These shares are valued at $37.39 million at the end of Q2, and account for 0.97% of the fund’s portfolio.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2021, Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management is among the leading shareholders of The Walt Disney Company, according to the data tracked by Insider Monkey. Overall, 112 funds were bullish on the company by the end of the June quarter, compared to 134 in the previous quarter.
On November 11, JPMorgan analyst Alexia Quadrani lowered her price target on The Walt Disney Company to $220 from $230, and kept an Overweight rating on its shares, noting that the company reported fiscal Q4 results with ongoing growth at Disney+ and recovery across its legacy businesses.
Aside from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Bank of America Corporation, The Walt Disney Company is one of the top stocks in Frederick DiSanto’s portfolio.
In its Q2 2021 investor letter, RiverPark Funds mentioned The Walt Disney Company and discussed its stance on the firm. Here is what the fund said:
“DIS shares declined for the quarter, taking a pause after a big fourth quarter and first quarter stock price advance, as Disney+ subscriber numbers were disappointing to investors. Disney+, the company’s DTC streaming business, had blown past previous subscriber projections, having gone from zero to 104 million in 17 months, but investors were now expecting 109 million subscribers. Management still expects significant continued growth to 230-260 million subscribers in 2024.
DIS is blessed with a deep library of unique content that includes both live sports (providing large, non-time shifted audiences) and incomparable brands including Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, as well as the ABC network. The company also has a wealth of upcoming new content, expecting over 100 original titles per year, including two new Star Wars spin-off series, 10 Star Wars films, 10 Marvel films, 15 Disney and Pixar films, and 15 Disney and Pixar series.
Now that the disruption in its theme park, cruise, and theatrical businesses appears to be coming to an end, we believe that Disney is among the best-positioned media companies in the new landscape to combine multi-channel and DTC distribution. We also note that DIS has an extremely strong balance sheet and a growing pool of free cash flow to be used both to return to shareholders and to invest in future opportunities.”
9. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $37.8 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.98%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 87
One of the largest banking and financial corporations in the United States, Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking, financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide.
Ancora Advisors owns 917,020 shares in Bank of America Corporation, valued at $37.8 million, representing 0.98% of the firm’s portfolio at the end of the second quarter.
Of the 873 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 87 were long Bank of America Corporation at the end of June, compared to 97 in the first quarter of 2021. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is the leading stakeholder of the company.
On October 25, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo raised the price target on Bank of America Corporation to $60 from $55, and kept an Overweight rating on the shares of the company.
Oakmark Funds, in its Bill Nygren third-quarter 2021 market commentary, mentioned Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). Here is what the fund said:
“Earlier this year, one of our holdings, Bank of America, announced that it was raising its minimum hourly wage from $15 to $20 and would increase it to $25 by 2025. The company received great press for placing the well-being of its employees above profits. But was it really either/or? Bank of America’s chief human resources officer spoke to the bigger picture: “A core tenet of responsible growth is our commitment to being a great place to work…that includes providing strong pay and competitive benefits to help them and their families, so that we continue to attract and retain the best talent.” Bank of America understood that engaged, high-caliber employees are more productive, less prone to turnover and, therefore, less expensive in the long run. Increasing the pay for employees wasn’t elevating employees above shareholders; it was the right thing to do for employees and for shareholders.
If an increase to $20 was good, why stop there? Why not $50 per hour? Because the benefits the business receives at $50 don’t justify the expense. The bank would no longer be able to price its products competitively and would lose business. The employees would “win” in the short term, but eventually the lost business would lead to job cuts, meaning both employees and shareholders would lose. The negative effects of stakeholder overreach are no different than when CEOs overreach to inflate short-term profits. Both hurt shareholders and stakeholders.”
8. Honeywell International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $37.88 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 0.99%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 57
Honeywell International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates through four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance materials and technologies, and safety and productivity solutions.
According to the second quarter 13F filings, Ancora Advisors holds 172,731 shares of Honeywell International, Inc., amounting to more than $37.88 million and accounting for 0.99% of the fund’s investment portfolio. At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 57 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.8 billion in Honeywell International Inc., up from 56 the preceding quarter worth $1.7 billion.
Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management is the leading shareholder in Honeywell International, Inc., with over 1.77 million shares worth approximately $388.9 million.
On October 7, Wells Fargo analyst Joseph O’Dea initiated coverage of Honeywell International, Inc. with an Equal Weight rating and $229 price target. The analyst expects the company to grow earnings at a double-digit rate over the next two years, thanks to tailwinds resulting from recoveries in its aerospace and oil and gas end markets.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Honeywell International Inc. was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“The portfolio’s quality bias and valuation discipline have generated compelling returns over time with typically strong relative results in more challenging environments as it did through the first three quarters of 2020. However, that same quality bias tends to create a more challenging relative performance environment for the Strategy during periods of sharp economic acceleration, which tend to benefit stocks that are more commodity linked or of lower quality. This has been the case during the vaccine- and stimulus-driven rally experienced late last year and during the most recent quarter. Sectors that lagged in the quarter included industrials, Honeywell also lagged in the quarter after previously generating strong returns over extended periods.”
7. Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $38.49 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) is an Indiana-based global manufacturer and marketer of plastic packaging products. Operating over 290 facilities across the globe, the company serves a huge variety of end markets, including food and drink, personal care, cosmetics, and healthcare, among others.
At the end of Q2, Frederick DiSanto owned 590,229 shares in Berry Global Group, Inc., amounting to $38.49 million, making up 1% of his hedge fund’s 13F portfolio.
Ricky Sandler of Eminence Capital is one of the biggest stakeholders of Berry Global Group, Inc. as of the end of the second quarter, according to the data tracked by Insider Monkey. Overall, 37 funds were bullish on Berry Global Group, Inc. by the end of the June quarter, compared to 42 in the previous quarter.
On October 12, Mizuho analyst Christopher Parkinson initiated coverage of Berry Global Group, Inc. with a Neutral rating and $70 price target.
6. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $42.53 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.11%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 88
Johnson & Johnson is a New Jersey-based multinational corporation that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Founded in 1886, the company gained popularity among institutional investors due to its Covid-19 vaccine operations.
As of Q2 2021, Ancora Advisors reported owning 258,192 shares in Johnson & Johnson, worth $42.53 million, representing 1.11% of the fund’s investment portfolio.
Of the 873 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 88 hedge funds held positions in Johnson & Johnson in Q2 2021, up from 81 in the previous quarter. Fundsmith LLP is the leading shareholder of Johnson & Johnson, with shares worth over $1.1 billion.
On October 20, Raymond James analyst Jayson Bedford lowered the price target on Johnson & Johnson to $178 from $183, and kept an Outperform rating on the shares of the company.
Similar to Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Bank of America Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, Johnson & Johnson is a notable stock to invest in.
Distillate Capital mentioned Johnson & Johnson in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“The largest additions in the rebalance, Johnson & Johnson was around 50 and 40 basis points incrementally. J&J underperformed in the quarter while its normalized free cash flows held steady and so its position size was topped off to match the stable cash flows.”
5. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $45 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.17%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
Based in New York, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a multinational financial services and investment banking corporation that offers financial advisory services and solutions across the world. On October 22, the company announced an online bill payment and customer engagement platform through Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY).
On October 25, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo raised the price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. to $210 from $200, and maintained an Overweight rating on the shares, citing confidence in the company’s earnings capacity and consistency.
Based on the second quarter securities filings, Ancora Advisors holds 289,357 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co., worth more than $45 million and accounting for 1.17% of the fund’s investment portfolio.
Of the 873 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 108 were long in JPMorgan Chase & Co. at the end of June, compared to 111 in the first quarter of 2021. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in the company.
4. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $63.6 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 1.66%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 238
One of the top US tech companies, Microsoft Corporation shares are up by 51% year-to-date. The firm announced a strategic partnership with Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD) on November 12. Becoming Kyndryl’s only Premier Global Alliance Partner, Microsoft Corporation will have access to the $500 billion managed services market where the firm leads.
As of the second quarter of 2021, Frederick DiSanto has stakes worth $63.6 million in Microsoft Corporation, representing 1.66% of Ancora Advisors’ investment portfolio.
Of the 873 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 238 were bullish on Microsoft Corporation at the end of June. The total stake value of these positions amounted to approximately $62.4 billion. This is compared to 251 hedge funds in the first quarter of 2021, with a total stake of $58.9 billion.
Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Robert Koehn’s Ivy Lane Capital is the biggest shareholder in Microsoft Corporation, with 86,000 shares worth more than $23.29 billion.
On November 1, Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick initiated coverage of Microsoft Corporation with a Buy rating and $390 price target. The analyst calls the firm “the gold standard of software stocks”.
Here is what Alger has to say about Microsoft Corporation in its Q3 2021 investor letter:
“Microsoft Corporation was among the top contributors to performance during the third quarter. Microsoft is a Positive Dynamic Change beneficiary of corporate America’s transformative digitization. Microsoft’s enterprise cloud product, Azure, is rapidly growing and accruing market share. Microsoft reported that Azure grew 51% in the second quarter. This high unit volume growth is a primary driver of the company’s higher share price, but the company’s strong operating execution has enabled margin expansion that has also helped to increase forward earnings estimates. We believe Microsoft’s subscription-based software offerings and cloud computing services have a durable growth profile because they enhance customers’ growth initiatives and help them to diminish costs. Additionally, investors appreciate Microsoft’s strong free cash flow generation and its return of cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases.”
3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $86.36 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 2.25%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 138
Ancora Advisors, as of the second quarter, owns 630,546 shares in Apple Inc., worth $86.36 million, representing 2.25% of the firm’s stock portfolio.
Of the 873 elite funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 138 were long Apple Inc. at the end of June, up from 127 in the first quarter of 2021. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway is the leading stakeholder of the company.
On November 9, Arete analyst Richard Kramer raised the price target on Apple Inc. to $180 from $168 and kept a Buy rating on the shares of the company.
ClearBridge Investments mentioned Apple Inc. in its first-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“As we actively manage holdings and position sizes, we look to regularly recycle capital into more compelling opportunities. Maintaining our valuation discipline, we sharply reduced our position in Apple, whose shares more than doubled following our initial purchase in mid-2019 with an earnings multiple rising from the low-to-mid teens to nearly 30x.”
2. Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $165.6 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 4.33%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19
Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) is a Tennessee-based leading provider of time-definite surface transportation and related logistics services across North America.
According to the 13F filings for the second quarter of 2021, Frederick DiSanto’s hedge fund holds over 1.85 million shares of Forward Air Corporation. These shares are valued at $165.6 million and account for 4.33% of his fund’s investment portfolio.
Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates is one of the biggest stakeholders of Forward Air Corporation (NADSAQ:FWRD) as of the end of the second quarter, according to the data tracked by Insider Monkey. Overall, 19 funds were bullish on the company by the end of the June quarter, compared to 13 in the previous quarter.
On October 29, Baird analyst Garrett Holland raised his price target on Forward Air Corporation to $110 from $100, and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.
1. Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS)
Ancora Advisors’ Stake Value: $192.5 million
Percentage of Ancora Advisors’ 13F Portfolio: 5.03%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Kohl’s Corporation is a Wisconsin-based operator of family-oriented department stores that sell apparel, footwear and accessories.
At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 40 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $1.3 billion in Kohl’s Corporation, up from 35 in the previous quarter worth $1.4 billion. Frederick DiSanto’s Ancora Advisors reported owning more than 3.49 million shares of Kohl’s Corporation, amounting to approximately $192.5 million and representing 5.03% of the investment firm’s portfolio value.
Out of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Boston-based investment firm Arrowstreet Capital is among the leading shareholders in Kohl’s Corporation, with over 3.4 million shares worth more than $188.4 million.
Baird analyst Mark Altschwager recently raised the price target on the stock to $70 from $68 and kept an Outperform rating on Kohl’s Corporation, underlining that the firm had made positive changes to its operating model.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
