(Bloomberg) — Hedge funds continued to lean into the biggest technology companies leading the way in artificial intelligence as the hype propelled the US stock market higher in the first quarter of the year.
Most Read from Bloomberg
These institutional investors saw Nvidia Corp. exposure grow, with the AI darling having the biggest increase by market value for a single stock in the three months ending March 31 even as hedge funds on net sold shares. They also saw increased exposure in AI leaders Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. while trimming positions, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of data from 13F filings. Among individual hedge funds, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revealed a stake in insurer Chubb Ltd.
Shares of Chubb rose as much as 11% in premarket trading on Thursday, putting the stock on track for its biggest rise since November 2008. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares edged higher, rising 0.5%.
The shift in holdings came as Wall Street fund managers continued to monitor the Federal Reserve’s outlook for interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 rose 10% in the first three months of 2024 and ended the quarter at an all-time high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index gained 8.5% through the end of March.
At the same time, fund managers trimmed holdings of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Snap Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., according to the data.
Bloomberg has so far analyzed 13F filings by 1,124 hedge funds. Their combined holdings amounted to $1.887 trillion, compared with $1.728 trillion held by the same funds three months earlier.
Technology accounted for the biggest weighting in the investor group’s portfolios, at 28%, followed by consumer discretionary at 14%. The value of investments in technology increased the most while real estate rose by the least for any industry.
-
Tiger Global Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. Class A shares. The fund upped its exposure to the broader communications and technology sectors, including increased positions in Amazon.com
-
Renaissance Technologies LLC exited Exxon Mobil Corp. while adding Chevron Corp. The fund upped its weightings in financial stocks by more than any other industry, while decreasing its weightings in the communications sector.
-
Two Sigma Advisers LP tacked on Walmart Inc. while upping its weighting in health care stocks, including a boosted stake in Humana Inc. The firm decreased its weighting in the technology sector, with Advanced Micro Devices and Flex Ltd. among technology exits
-
Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management LLC exited positions in Oracle Corp. as well as Alphabet Inc. Class A. Its biggest holding was JD.com Inc. Class A, which represented 9.5% of its assets.
-
Berkshire Hathaway slashed its position in Apple Inc. as it cut its overall weighting in technology stocks. Even after the reduction, Apple still represented its largest holding, constituting 41% of assets.
-
Microsoft was cut or reduced by 252 investors, the biggest such number; Amazon.com was increased or initiated by 232 investors, the biggest tally. Microsoft was the most valuable overall holding at $60.62 billion
–With assistance from Subrat Patnaik.
(Updates to add stock moves in third paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.