In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 stocks that billionaire Larry Robbins just bought and sold. If you want to skip our introduction to the billionaire hedge fund boss and the latest stock market news, then take a look at 5 Stocks Billionaire Larry Robbins Just Bought and Sold.
Larry Robbins is one of the more interesting hedge fund bosses in the finance industry. He set up his hedge fund Glenview Capital in 2000, and according to Insider Monkey's research, the hedge fund had an investment portfolio worth $4.4 billion during the third quarter of this year. This value sees the portfolio stay flat over 2023's June quarter and a $400 million growth over last year's third quarter.
Unlike some other hedge funds which loathe uncertainty and seek to divest their holdings at the slightest hint of volatility, Mr. Robbins is known for holding stocks for a long time period. This also means that his fund swings between losses and gains based on the broader trading environment. For instance, in 2008, which was the worst period for the finance industry in 2008, Mr. Robbins' fund lost nearly $4.5 billion in assets. However, over a longer time period, say between 2001 to 2010, the hedge fund posted a whopping 301% net fee return, and after the 2008 hit, it went on to soar 82.7% in 2009.
Like others, Mr. Robbins is also a prudent market analyst. Some of his strongest bets came during 2021 when the coronavirus pandemic was raging its devastation. Back then, the billionaire hedge fund owner repeated his strong healthcare investments streak and went on to buy healthcare and travel stocks in 2020. This led to his hedge fund returning 10.3% in 2021 as the healthcare bets paid off with Wall Street piling into them in hopes of a cure for the virus. Healthcare continues to be a favorite Larry Robbins play as of the third quarter of 2023, since his firm's three biggest investments are in healthcare companies. These are Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), and Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS). Cumulatively, they represent roughly a quarter of Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 investment portfolio, as the hedge fund has piled in roughly $1.1 billion in the three companies only.
Additionally, Larry Robbins's investing philosophy places him right alongside some of the biggest names in the industry such as Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Seth Klarman of Baupost Group. This is because he believes that instead of acting as traders that jump to sell shares as soon as the share price nosedives, Mr. Robbins believes that investors should act more like owners. This involves working closely with company management teams to build relationships and understand the intricate nature of a business to see whether its fundamentals can support hefty share price appreciation in the future.
Mr. Robbins' hedge fund, Glenview Capital's investment strategy is also often described as a mix of growth and value investment. The strategy is often dubbed as GARP, an acronym for Growth At a Reasonable Price after an interview he gave to Value Investor Insight Magazine in 2005. This approach has seen the fund target not only healthcare companies but also technology and other firms that it believes have the potential to post share price appreciation in the future while still being modestly priced.
Shifting our focus from Larry Robbins to the broader economic environment, right now, it appears that the winds of investing are shifting. This is because inflation has fallen by quite a bit, and the data for October saw major stock indexes soar as investors made bets that the Federal Reserve is done with its interest rate hikes. However, at the same time, some strange events are taking place in the stock market. For those out of the loop, volatility in investing refers to rapid share movement and the index that tracks this volatility is the Cboe Volatility Index also called the VIX. So what's strange about that? Well, data compiled by Reuters shows that nearly a hundred thousand call options with a strike price of 27 closing in January 2024 have been opened. They join other options that were recently opened, and cumulatively, a whopping half a million January call options are in play. Does this mean that some big fish is betting that stocks will go through a sell off and cause the VIX to spike? Not necessarily, as the positions could indicate hedging for other positions.
So, as the market breathes and somebody bets that volatility will jump, what stocks is Larry Robbins buying and selling? We took a look and some notable names are The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), and Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI).
12 Stocks Billionaire Larry Robbins Just Bought and Sold
Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the stocks that Larry Robbins is buying and selling, we first ranked all stocks that his firm bought or added stakes to by their dollar value. Then, this was repeated for the stocks he sold or reduced exposure in, with the dollar value for the former being the Q2 2023 stake. The final list of the stocks that Larry Robbins is buying and selling is as follows.
12 Stocks Billionaire Larry Robbins Just Bought and Sold
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $81.6 million
Bought Or Sold: Sold
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: -10%
Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) is an American automotive maintenance services provider headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. The firm cited optimism for its market as part of its fourth quarter earnings report, as management outlined that consumers were holding on to their vehicles for longer.
During this year's second quarter, 34 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had held a stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV). In Q3, Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global was the firm's biggest shareholder as it owned 8.8 million shares that are worth $285 million.
Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) joins Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), and Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) in our list of some stocks that billionaire Larry Robbins bought and sold in Q3 2023.
Glenview Capital's Q2 2023 Investment: $88.9 million
Bought Or Sold: Sold
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: -100%
FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is an agricultural end use products provider that sells herbicides, pesticides, and associated items. The firm has struggled in the wake of a global economic slowdown, and to this end, it is now divesting non core assets.
By Q2 2023 end, 32 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey had bought and owned the firm's shares. In the next quarter, FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC)'s largest hedge fund investor was Israel Englander's Millennium Management due to its $108 million investment.
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $89.3 million
Bought Or Sold: Sold
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: -12%
US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD) is a defensive stock that distributes food products to restaurants and other establishments. Even though Glenview Capital reduced its holdings by 12% in Q3, the firm's shares are rated Strong Buy on average and analysts have set an average share price target of $50.
During this year's June quarter, 52 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had held a stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD). Scott Ferguson's Sachem Head Capital owned the biggest stake in the firm in the September quarter which was worth $751 million.
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $121 million
Bought Or Sold: Bought
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: 854%
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is an online retailer with other business divisions as well. The firm is busy fighting the work from home trend these days, as according to media reports, it is warning employees of limiting their promotion prospects if they don't come to the office at least three days in the week.
By the end of 2023's June quarter, 278 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had invested in the company. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s largest hedge fund shareholder is Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management due to its $5.2 billion investment.
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $135 million
Bought Or Sold: Bought
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: 17%
Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT) is a British technology company that provides organizations and businesses with analytics, market intelligence, and other services. The company has been doing well on the financial front as of late since it has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
As of Q2 2023 end, 39 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT)'s shareholders. During Q3, the largest shareholder was Leonard Green's Leonard Green & Partners as it owned 116 million shares that are worth $782 million.
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $143 million
Bought Or Sold: Bought
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: 45%
Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) is a financial services company that enables customers to make and receive payments. A growth in digitization and the popularity of financial technology has served the firm well in turbulent economic times as it has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
Insider Monkey dug through 910 hedge funds for their second quarter of 2023 investments and found that 68 had invested in the company. Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)'s biggest investor in 2023's September quarter was Natixis Global Asset Management's Harris Associates as it owned $1.6 billion worth of shares.
Glenview Capital's Q3 2023 Investment: $155.7 million
Bought Or Sold: Sold
Percentage Increase or (-)Decrease: -6%
McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) is a healthcare company that sells drugs and provides technology solutions to other companies. The shares are rated Strong Buy on average and analysts have set an average share price target of $497.75.
During Q2 2023, 60 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey had bought McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)'s shares. McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)'s largest hedge fund shareholder in Q3 was Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital courtesy of its $675 million stake.
The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), and Element Solutions Inc (NYSE:ESI) are some stocks that Larry Robbins and Glenview Capital bought and sold as of September 2023.
