By Carolina Mandl
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bridgewater Associates increased its stake in chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) by 458% at the end of last year while also adding exposure to other members of the so-called Magnificent Seven group of growth and technology stocks that have driven markets higher, filings showed on Wednesday.
The hedge fund founded by billionaire Ray Dalio increased its stake in Nvidia, the world's most valuable chipmaker, to 268,489 shares. The position was valued at $133 million at the end of December.
Nvidia, whose shares have already risen 47% this year, briefly overtook Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s stock market capitalization to become the third-biggest U.S. company on Wednesday, with a market capitalization of over $1.8 trillion.
Bridgewater also bought roughly 500,000 new shares in Alphabet, bringing its total to 2 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter, valued at $286 million. The hedge fund also added a few more shares in Meta (NASDAQ:META), bringing its position to 666,059 shares, while it acquired a comparatively small new position in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), of 1,109 shares, and roughly maintained its exposure to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) at 197,732 shares.
The positions were revealed in securities filings known as 13-fs, which hedge funds and other institutional investors file at the end of each quarter. While they are backward-looking and do not reveal current holdings or short positions, the filings are one of the few ways to see the portfolios of often-secretive funds.
Alphabet shares are up 4% this year, while Meta’s have risen 33%. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple are down this year 24.6% and 5%, respectively.
Bridgewater also bought more shares in Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), which is one of the makers of the popular new weight-loss drugs. Its shares are up 29% this year. Bridgewater added 255,619 new shares of Eli Lilly in the last quarter of 2023 and now holds 317,586 shares.