Three stocks billionaire Bill Ackman is selling

Billionaire super-investor Bill Ackman maintained his investment in tech giant Google while cutting his positions in fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle, hotel behemoth Hilton and nearly sold out of his position in retailer Lowe’s. 

Ackman’s journey into investing began in his early years when he interned at a real estate development company in his hometown of Chappaqua, New York.

He later attended Harvard Business School, where he honed his investment skills and developed his investing philosophy.

After graduating, Ackman founded his own hedge fund, Gotham Partners, which focused on value investing and activism.

In 2004, Ackman launched Pershing Square Capital Management, where he continued using his unique investing approach to build a highly concentrated portfolio of carefully selected stocks.

Ackman is highly respected in investment circles, with his Pershing Square Holdings hedge fund managing to compound annually at a rate of 16.1% for nearly two decades..

Ackman’s investment strategy is focused on identifying companies with strong growth potential that are undervalued by the market.

He looks for companies with a competitive advantage, a strong management team, and a clear growth path.

Once he has identified a company he believes in, he takes an active approach to investing, using his influence as a shareholder to push for changes he believes will increase the company’s value.

This approach has been highly successful for Ackman, with many of his investments resulting in significant long-term returns.

Despite his success, Ackman’s portfolio is notably small, consisting of just a few carefully selected positions.

This is because he believes in investing only in companies that he has thoroughly researched and understands rather than simply diversifying his portfolio for the sake of it.

This approach allows him to maintain a deep understanding of the companies he invests in, giving him an edge over other investors who may be spread too thin.

Pershing Square’s portfolio

Investors with over $100 million under management are mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file a 13F report within 45 days of the end of the last quarter. 

These investors are mandated to outline their portfolio holdings at the end of the quarter, revealing to the public how they are investing their money. 

Ackman’s 13F filing revealed that he cut significantly his investments in Chipotle and Hilton, perhaps indicating he predicts a slowdown in consumer spending in the US.

To this end, he also slashed his investment in hardware retailer Lowe’s by over 80%.

The table below shows Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management’s share portfolio on 31 December 2023, valued at $10.3 billion.