Thomas Bailard’s Top Picks: International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) & Apple Inc. (AAPL)

With more than 40 years of market experience, Thomas Bailard is the co-founder and manager of Bailard Inc. We follow the activity of Bailard and other elite hedge fund managers, and one of the best ways to do this is through 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Generally, hedge funds employ a variety of strategies; for example, Bailard is focusing on quant and fundamental analyses to pick its investments.

As follows, the largest pick in Bailard’s 13F is International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), in which the hedge fund holds 36,613 shares, worth $7.8 million. During the first three months of 2013, the hedge fund slightly reduced its stake by about 500 shares. The stock of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) returned slightly below 2% since the beginning of the year, and trades at a trailing P/E of 13.8x.

In second place is Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), represented in Thomas Bailard’s hedge fund by a $6.2 million stake, which involves 69,294 shares. Aside from Bailard, we should also mention Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust managed by Michael Larson, Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management, and Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management are among hedge funds that reported stakes in Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) at the end of the first quarter.

Next on our list comes 13,815 shares owned by Bailard in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). The value of the hedge fund’s stake in the company amounts to $6.1 million, down from $7.2 million at the end of 2012. The year-to-date return of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock is close to -15% and it sports a P/E of 11.2x.

We should also mention a $5.6 million stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The hedge fund owns 194,386 shares of the company, down by 2,981 shares over the quarter. The stock of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has a year-to-date return of over 19.5%.

Who’s last?