Jeffrey Ubben’s Top 5 Q4 Stock Picks

#3 Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 37.15 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.31 billion

ValueAct cut its position in oil field services company Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 368,700 shares during the quarter. The company swung to a loss of $54 million in the third quarter, versus income of $1.20 billion a year ago. Revenue for the quarter fell to $5.6 billion compared to $5.9 billion in the same quarter of last year. As mentioned, the proposed $34.6 billion merger deal between Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes is facing antitrust scrutiny in the United States. In addition, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has also raised concerns about the merger, which would reduce the number of suppliers in the oilfield goods and services industry in Australia. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is trading down by 3.36% year-to-date. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group was holding 5.71 million shares of the company at the end of the third quarter.

#2 Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 14.99 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $2.67 billion

In Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), ValueAct Capital’s stake remained unchanged during the quarter. Recently, Valeant announced the termination of its affiliation with specialty pharmacy Philidor Rx Services, which has been accused of unethical business practices, including misleading insurance companies and altering prescriptions without physicians’ instructions. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) has faced massive criticism from investors and regulators during the last few months over its affiliation with Philidor. This situation has been disastrous for the stock, which has lost 36.52% year-to-date. Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital held 7.46 million shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) as of the end of September.

1# Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 75.27 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $3.33 billion

ValueAct Capital slightly raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the third quarter. The stock is trading up by 16.66% year-to-date, with many analysts believing that it can move up even higher. Microsoft’s performance was impressive during the third quarter, beating EPS estimates by $0.08 per share. The company reported EPS of $0.67 on revenue of $21.7 billion. Furthermore, it has increased its earnings guidance for the full fiscal year 2016 to a range of $2.49-to-$2.54 per share. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s improved performance attracted more hedge funds to it during the third quarter. A total of 113 funds among those we track were holding the stock in their portfolio at the end of September, compared to 107 funds at the end of the second quarter. One of them is First Eagle Investment Management, which owned 33.88 million shares of the company as of the end of September.

Disclosure: None