Top-Performing Stocks of Gates’ Foundation Trust in 2021

According to current portfolio statistics, a Premium feature of GuruFocus, five stocks in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust’s equity portfolio gained more than 30% over the past 12 months: Alphabet Inc. (

GOOGL, Financial)(GOOG, Financial), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financial), Waste Management Inc. (WM, Financial), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS, Financial).

Gates and his ex-wife Melinda founded the trust in 2000. The foundation trust invests in companies consistent with the principles of good governance and management while also considering issues beyond corporate profits. The trust avoids investing in companies whose profit model is tied to corporate activities inconsistent with its principles.

As of the latest portfolio filing, the foundation trust’s $23.19 billion equity portfolio contains 22 stocks with a quarterly turnover ratio of 8%. The top two sectors in terms of weight are financial services and industrials, representing 45.53% and 33.79% of the equity portfolio.

Alphabet

The foundation trust owns 21,554 Class A shares (

GOOGL, Financial) and 21,491 Class C shares of Alphabet (GOOG, Financial). The two positions have a combined weight of 0.50% in the equity portfolio.

Class A shares traded around $2,738.42, up approximately 51.44% over the past 12 months. Likewise, Class C shares traded around $2,742.65, up approximately 51.49% over the past 12 months. The stock is modestly overvalued based on Thursday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.19.

GuruFocus ranks the Mountain View, California-based internet giant’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a five-star business predictability rank, a high Piotroski F-score of 8 and profit margins and returns that are outperforming more than 87% of global competitors.

Gurus with holdings in Alphabet include

Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) and
PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio).

Microsoft

The foundation trust owns 2,937,703 shares of Microsoft (

MSFT, Financial), allocating 3.57% of its equity portfolio to the stake.

Shares of Microsoft traded around $308.61, up approximately 41.21% over the past year. The stock is modestly overvalued based on Thursday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.21.

GuruFocus ranks the Redmond, Washington-based software giant’s profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 8 and profit margins and returns that are outperforming more than 95% of global competitors.

Waste Management

The foundation trust owns 18,633,672 shares of Waste Management (

WM, Financial), dedicating 12% of its equity portfolio to the position.

Shares of Waste Management traded around $155.36, up approximately 36.84% over the past 12 months. The stock is modestly overvalued based on Thursday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.13.

GuruFocus ranks the Houston-based waste service company’s profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include profit margins and returns outperforming more than 70% of global competitors.

Berkshire Hathaway

The foundation trust owns 38,686,679 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway (

BRK.B, Financial), giving the position 45.53% weight in the equity portfolio.

Class B shares of

Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s insurance conglomerate traded around $311.01, up 34.19% over the past 12 months. The stock is significantly overvalued based on Thursday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.31.

GuruFocus ranks the Omaha, Nebraska-based insurance conglomerate’s profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a four-star business predictability rank, a high Piotroski F-score of 8 and profit margins and returns that are outperforming more than 85% of global competitors.

United Parcel Service

The foundation trust owns 2,284,015 shares of United Parcel Service (

UPS, Financial), giving the position 1.79% equity portfolio weight.

Shares of UPS traded around $202.29, up approximately 32.99% over the past year. The stock is modestly overvalued based on Thursday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.30.

GuruFocus ranks the Atlanta-based logistics company’s profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 8 and profit margins and returns that outperform more than 68% of global competitors.