Skip to main content

The Gates Foundation bought half a million AAPL shares last quarter

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation bought 501,044 shares in AAPL during the first quarter of the year, reveals an SEC filing.

The investment will already have been profitable. The exact gain made would depend on when the shares were purchased, as AAPL dropped 15% in the course of the quarter but then gained 25% in value …

That’s a substantial win even if the shares were bought at their Q1 high, and an even bigger one if they were bought close to the low point.

Smarter Analyst (via PED30) reports that the foundation also invested heavily in Alibaba, Amazon and Twitter.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife established the world’s largest private foundation back in 2000. The foundation holds over $40 billion in assets.

The trust also built up new positions in Twitter, which has soared 48% in the past two months, by purchasing 272,420 shares. In e-commerce giant Amazon it acquired 60,460 shares. It also bought 552,383 shares of Alibaba […]

The Gates Foundation Trust’s biggest new buy was the purchase of 6,981,665 shares of Schrodinger, a life and materials sciences software company.

It saw even bigger gains on the Amazon shares.

Shares in Amazon have surged 45% since mid-March and were trading at $2,436.88 as of Friday.

Interestingly, the trust also sold shares in big-time AAPL investor Berkshire Hathaway.

The trust cut its holding in Berkshire Hathaway by 5,000,000 Class B shares, or 10.02%.

The conglomerate has boosted its own stake in AAPL by $10B since the beginning of the year.

Analysts are not expecting any further imminent gains in AAPL.

Given the recent rally, the $318.93 average price target by analysts indicates shares are fully priced (See Apple stock analysis on TipRanks).

However, I’d echo Philip Elmer-DeWitt’s view.

My take: “Fully priced” is in the mind of the investor, not in the price targets of 32 sell-side analysts.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aims to tackle critical global problems. The couple describe themselves as ‘impatient optimists working to reduce inequity.’

We work with partners worldwide to tackle critical problems in five program areas.

Our Global Health Division aims to reduce inequities in health by developing new tools and strategies to reduce the burden of infectious disease and the leading causes of child mortality in developing countries.

Our Global Development Division focuses on improving the delivery of high-impact health products and services to the world’s poorest communities and helps countries expand access to health coverage.

Our Global Growth & Opportunity division focuses on creating and scaling market-based innovations to stimulate inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Our United States Division works to improve U.S. high school and postsecondary education, and support vulnerable children and families in Washington State.

And our Global Policy & Advocacy Division seeks to build strategic relationships and promote policies that will help advance our work. Our approach to grant-making in all five areas emphasizes collaboration, innovation, risk-taking, and, most importantly, results.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


Ben Lovejoy's favorite gear