Harding Loevner, an asset management company, released its “Global Equity Strategy” second-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the strategy returned 8.02% net of fees compared to a 6.35% return for the MSCI All Country World Index and 7% for the MSCI World Index. Slowing inflation and a surge in optimism about the potential of AI boosted global equity markets. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Harding Loevner Global Equity Strategy highlighted stocks like Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) in the second quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Weybridge, the United Kingdom, Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) engages in the research, development, and manufacturing of personal healthcare products. On September 21, 2023, Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) stock closed at $8.31 per share. One-month return of Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) was 0.61%, and its shares gained 40.13% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion.
Harding Loevner Global Equity Strategy made the following comment about Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
“Given the narrow concentration of market returns during the quarter, many high-quality growth stocks remain attractively valued. We took the opportunity to buy companies such as Symrise and Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN). These transactions also helped reduce the forecast beta of our portfolio from 1.15 to 1.03 while maintaining its overall quality-growth profile and valuation.
Haleon, a company that listed in London last year, was formed by the merger of GSK’s (formerly GlaxoSmithKline) and Pfizer’s consumer businesses. Haleon owns consumer-health brands such as Sensodyne (toothpaste) and Voltaren (pain-relieving gel). The business has earned one of the highest profit margins among European home- and personal-care companies, and it is highly cash generative. We expect organic revenue growth in the mid- single digits for the long run. Its valuation is attractive relative to peers due to an overhang from the large stakes still held by Pfizer and GSK, which together own more than 40% of the company. We are thrilled to hold such a high-quality business at a reasonable valuation, as we expect that ownership-related discount to fade in the coming years.”
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Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) at the end of second quarter which was 18 in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.