Express Scripts Stock Dominated Q4; Which Funds Might've Won?

Express Scripts Holding Company ESRX returned nearly 20 percent in the fourth quarter. This likely made a handful of hedge funds and institutional investors very happy.

Chieftain Capital Management

Although there are several institutions with much larger holdings in Express Scripts, John Shapiro’s Chieftain Capital Management is the largest hedge fund shareholder in the company.

The fund boosted its exposure by 9 percent over the third quarter, when the stock traded well below current prices.

The fund’s 5.45 million shares (as of September 30) -- worth about $385 million -- would now be valued at more than $467 million.

Brave Warrior Capital

Glenn Greenberg also appears to have benefited.

His fund, Brave Warrior Capital, also boosted its stake in Express Scripts by 7 percent in the third quarter to 4.98 million shares. Given Express Scripts' near-20 percent return in Q4, Greenberg's position could've returned over $75 million.

Outside The Hedge Fund World

Investment manager Capital World Investors also appears to have made more than half-a-billion dollars with Express Scripts last quarter.

The firm disclosed ownership of more than 34 million shares by the end of the third quarter, after adding over 5.3 million shares to its equity portfolio during the period.

If left unchanged, the market value of this holding would have hit $2.9 billion -- a potential gain of $500 million.