Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Among Gabalex Capital’s Bullish Picks

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Nigel Greig and Kenneth Cowin’s Gabalex Capital is the latest fund to file a 13F with the SEC for the March 31 reporting period and we have all the details of the fund’s top positions. Gabalex Capital was founded by Greig in 2008 after more than a decade spent as a money manager at Bear Stearns. The New York-based fund is majority owned and managed by Greig, with Cowin serving as the fund’s COO. The fund has assets under management of approximately $341 million, nearly $283 million of which are tied up in its equity portfolio, a small, top-heavy portfolio consisting of just 14 long positions as of the latest reporting period.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is the heaviest of those top-heavy positions, with Gabalex’s holding in the retail giant standing at $49.35 million from an even 600,000 shares, unchanged from the previous reporting period. Unlike rival Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), which is enjoying a strong bounceback year in the U.S and subsequent run on its stock, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is struggling to generate much momentum. Though same-store sales have crept back into positive territory after more than a year of declines, earnings and revenue haven’t made much of a move over the past year, and the retailer offered cautious guidance for its fiscal 2016 year that came in below estimates. Gabalex Capital’s exposure to Wal-Mart stood at more than 18%, the highest of any fund in our database, though billionaire Warren Buffett held the largest position at over 60.38 million shares. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is down by 10% year-to-date, and by 1% over the past calendar year.

Gabalex also had the greatest exposure to W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) of any fund in our database, at nearly 15%. Its position was valued at $42.06 million and consisted of 165,000 of the company’s shares. W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) sells industrial and automotive parts worldwide and online in addition to offering a number of other services to clients, including inventory management. Shares are down more than 3% in 2015 after the company was forced to cut its outlook due to weakened demand in the oil and gas industry and a stronger U.S dollar. W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) also missed its most recent earnings estimates, with per share earnings that were flat year-over-year during the first quarter. The David Blood and Al Gore managed Generation Investment Management held a position of 896,749 shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) at the end of 2014.

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