With the latest round of 13F filings complete, we’ve run through the holdings of the more than 700 elite hedge funds and other investment firms that we track and compiled the voluminous data. We’ve already released a number of reports detailing the results, including lists of the favorite tech stocks and favorite mid-cap stocks of funds as of June 30. This time we’ll take a look at the consumer non-durables or consumer cyclical sector, which was led during the last round of filings by Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ:KRFT), which was delisted from the NASDAQ on July 1. Therefore, while hedge funds did still have holdings in the stock as of June 30, we’ve excluded it from this list (it was beaten by the new top pick anyway, but would have ranked in the top five). Which stock takes over the top spot? Which other stocks made the list? Read on to find out.
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5. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 57
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $3.41 Billion
Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) moves into fifth place after failing to make the top five of the prior list. Hedge fund ownership was up from 56 on March 31, while holdings rose from $2.94 billion during a quarter in which shares rose by 8%. Nike’s stock has enjoyed a strong run over the past 52 weeks, with gains of 45.6%. We recently set it against rival Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) in a stock showdown, and declared Nike the winner, based partly on its cheaper valuation. Nike has gained about 6% since then, though admittedly Under Armour has enjoyed an even stronger run, gaining about 14%. Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital is one of the firm believers in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), owning 7.16 million shares. David Blood and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management owns 1.25 million shares.
4. Pepsico Inc. (NYSE:PEP)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 57
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $7.08 Billion
Pepsico Inc. (NYSE:PEP) also moves into the top five after narrowly falling short in the last rankings, despite hedge fund ownership declining from 61. The value of the smart money’s holdings also declined rather substantially from $8.02 billion, which was only slightly affected by the share price of the stock, which was down by less than 3% during the quarter. We also had Pepsi and heated rival Coca-Cola duel it out in the stock showdown arena recently, with the battle declared a draw (even though we know everyone hates ties). Pepsico Inc. (NYSE:PEP) counts Donald Yacktman and Nelson Peltz as two very bullish investors, with them holding 22.35 million shares and 18.32 million shares respectively.
3. Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 62
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $4.13 Billion
Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ) moves up from fifth on the previous list, thanks to having an additional investor and weaker competition. After a relatively flat run from early April through the end of July, shares have taken off in August, spurred by the alcohol producer’s acquisition of luxury wine brand Meiomi on August 4. Constellation Brands also expanded its board to ten members in early August, adding Frontier Communications Corp (NASDAQ:FTR) head Daniel McCarthy. Many of Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ)’s top shareholders made only minor changes to their holdings in the second quarter, as they appear to like the long-term potential of the stock. Michael Lowenstein’s Kensico Capital was chief among them, holding 6.64 million shares worth over $770 million.
