Lee Ainslie’s Top Stock Picks Include Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Another tech pick in Ainslie’s portfolio was Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), with the filing reporting a position of 4.6 million shares. Recent results have been quite good for Qualcomm, though significant earnings growth is already priced in with the stock trading at 17 times trailing earnings. Still, that’s not a particularly high bar and so the communications equipment company may be worth a closer look. Qualcomm joined Apple, Microsoft, and more among hedge funds’ favorite tech stocks (see more tech stocks hedge funds love).

$45 billion market cap pharmacy benefit services company Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX) was another of Maverick’s top stock picks, at 5.1 million shares as of the end of December. Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors was also buying Express Scripts between October and December, and closed 2012 with a total of 2.7 million shares in its portfolio (find Cooperman’s favorite stocks). The company has settled its scrape with Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) which had previously been impacting its business; Express Scripts is now valued at 11 times expected earnings for 2014.

The fund disclosed ownership of 1.8 million shares of Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) on the 13F, up 30% from three months earlier. The apparel company’s sales were up only slightly last quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, but higher margins caused a high percentage increase in net income. High earnings multiples are common at this time in apparel, and Ralph Lauren is no exception with trailing and forward P/Es of 23 and 19, respectively. Lone Pine Capital, managed by billionaire and fellow Tiger Cub Stephen Mandel, had 3.9 million shares of Ralph Lauren in its own portfolio (check out Mandel’s stock picks).

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stock mentioned in this article.