Kellogg Company (K), Procter & Gamble (PG) Among Billionaire Ken Griffin’s Defensive Bets

Billionaire Ken Griffin got his start by trading options in his Harvard dorm room. Having founded Citadel Investment Group in 1990 with only $4 million, Griffin now manages one of the largest hedge funds in the world. He utilizes a model-based strategy focused on quantitative methods. In reviewing Citadel’s recent 13F filing we found five defensive stocks he loves (check out Ken Griffin’s new picks).

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is a consumer packaged goods company trading in line with the majority of its peers. After increasing its stake over 300% last quarter, PG is now Griffin’s largest 13F holding. Procter & Gamble trades at 22x earnings, close to Colgate’s 20x and Church & Dwight’s 23x multiples. Worth noting is that Procter does pay a robust dividend yielding 3.6%. Procter & Gamble has been looking to cut down on spending and recently announced plans to reduce costs by up to $10 billion over the next five years. These cost savings could add 10% to its operating margin. Helping insulate the company from too much volatility – with a beta of 0.5 – is its limited exposure to emerging markets – less than 40% of sales. Warren Buffett was the top fund owner in Procter & Gamble last quarter with over 52 million shares (see Warren Buffett’s newest picks).

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) was a 140% increase for Griffin last quarter and is now the fund’s 8th largest 13F holding. The bulk-retailer is expected to grow revenues 7% in FY2013 on the back of 7% growth in same store sales and 5% growth in store square footage. Driving this defensive play is an expected membership fee increase and market share gains via its upscale product mix, which appeals to a more affluent customer base. Costco is also expanding into international markets, which should help drive its 13% long-term expected earnings growth rate. Costco also has a beta of only 0.7, and trades cheaply at 0.4x sales, below Wal-Mart (0.5x) and Target (0.6x). Mega-billionaire Bill Gates was Costco’s top fund owner last quarter (check out Bill Gates’ biggest bets).

ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSSE:CAG) is Griffin’s 21st largest 13F holding and recently announced plans to acquire Ralcorp Holdings. Although we believe this will be a long-term positive for future growth, there are a number of concerns related to the debt burden ConAgra will now bear. The Ralcorp deal is valued at $6.8 billion, but the debt load caused S&P to cut its credit rating to just one level above junk. S&P now has a triple B-minus rating on the company. Despite its debt concerns, ConAgra does pay a handsome 3.4% dividend yield.

Who’s the best of the rest?