These 3 Stocks Account for Nearly 30% of Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Portfolio.

Leon Cooperman has been investing for over 50 years, and even though the billionaire is approaching his 82nd birthday in April, he continues to look for excellent stocks to own and profit from.

Although Cooperman’s latest 13F report had just $2.64 billion in assets invested across 45 stocks–a decade earlier, the semi-retired hedge fund manager had $7.05 billion invested in 79 stocks–he continues to favor finance-related businesses. 

Back then, around 30% of his stocks were finance-related; today, he’s got over 38% invested in finance-related stocks, including five of the top 10 holdings. 

However, Mr. Cooper Group (NASDAQ:COOP), Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT), and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) are Cooperman’s top three finance stocks, accounting for nearly 30% of his portfolio.  

Although WhaleWisdom.com shows that he’s owned all three stocks since Q1 2023, his ownership in two of them goes back well before then. 

Here’s why he’ll likely hang on to all three.

Key Points About This Article:

• Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman has nearly 30% of his $2.64 billion portfolio in three stocks. 
• The former hedge fund manager’s top holding is Mr. Cooper Group (NASDAQ:COOP), America’s leading home loan servicer. 
• He also has high-single-digit weightings in both Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) 
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Who Is Mr. Cooper?

Cooperman’s 13F reporting is a bit wonky. There are 13Fs until Q2 2014, a break until Q1 2019, and a third break from Q4 2021 until Q1 2023. No matter. 

The billionaire has owned Mr. Cooper Group since Q1 2019, when he purchased 780,000 company shares worth $7.48 million as of March 31, 2019. Today, he owns 2.86 million shares worth $274.6 million at the end of December. The estimated average price paid per share is $13.58. They currently trade for over $100.

So why does the billionaire have 10.39% of his assets invested in Mr. Cooper Group? Because somebody’s got to service all the home loans American homeowners hold. 

Under its three brands, Mr. Cooper, Rushmore Servicing, and Xome, it has 5.4 million customers as of Q3 2024, representing an 8.7% market share, the largest in the country. It also has a sub-servicer market share of 14.3%, the second-highest in the U.S.

Mr. Cooper finished 2024 with an operating income of $178 million in the fourth quarter, an average tangible book value of $4.51 billion, and an ROTCE (return on tangible common equity) of 15.8%, which is excellent. Its tangible book value per share in the fourth quarter was $71.61, up 2.4% from Q3 2024. 

Of the nine analysts that cover its stock, six rate it a Buy, with a target price of $127.50, well above where it’s currently trading. 

Cooperman didn’t get into Mr. Cooper as it bottomed in March 2020, but he was very close. He continues to do well with this investment. 

Finance in Name Only

For whatever reason, WhaleWisdom classifies Vertiv as a finance-related business when, in reality, its products help more than 750,000 customers keep their sites connected and running 24/7, 365 days a year. 

The company has nearly 27,000 employees working worldwide from 240 global service centers to keep its customers happy. With more than 2,740 patents issued and another 770 patents pending, it’s a technology wizard. 

Cooperman owns 2.1 million Vertiv shares, accounting for 9.03% of his 13F assets. The shares are worth $183 million at current prices, much higher than the average price paid per share estimate of $16.19. 

The billionaire first picked up Vertiv shares in Q3 2020, purchasing 1.1 million shares, which were worth $19.05 million as of Sept. 30, 2020. He now owns a million more, worth 10 times this amount. He’s done well.

Analysts love VRT stock. 

Of the 23 that cover it, 18 rate it a Buy (78%), with a target price of $140, 60% higher than its current share price.  

Apollo’s Many Revenue Streams

Cooperman got involved with Apollo Global Management through his Q3 2020  purchase of Athene Holding stock. Athene is one of the largest providers of annuities in the U.S.

In January 2022, Apollo completed its acquisition of Athene, paying approximately $11 billion in stock for the company. Cooperman would have gotten 1.149 Apollo shares for each Athene share held. The merger created a $29 billion market cap. Today, its market cap is over $84 billion. 

The billionaire bought 981,606 shares in 2020. By the end of 2021, that was up to 1.6 million. He would have received 1.84 million Apollo shares in the merger transaction. Today, he owns 1.39 million, so he’s taken some profits off the table in the past three years, but it still accounts for 8.67% of his portfolio. 

On Feb. 24, Apollo announced that it would acquire Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG), a tech-driven real estate private equity firm with $50 billion in assets under management. Apollo is paying $1.5 billion in stock for Bridge.

The all-stock transaction gives Apollo immediate scale in its real estate equity platform by providing a suite of products and offerings to reach the alternative asset manager’s global investor base. 

It’s a winning move that should keep Cooperman invested over the long haul.

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