Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square boosted its Alphabet stake in the third quarter, regulatory fillings show. The billionaire hedge fund manager nearly doubled his holdings of the Google parent’s Class A shares, which have voting rights, to approximately 4.4 million during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to Pershing Square’s 13F report with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, Ackman left Pershing’s Class C stake, which has no voting rights, unchanged at nearly 9.4 million shares. Ackman’s move came amid a strong quarter for Alphabet that allowed it to extend 2023 gains even as other tech stocks struggled. Class A shares rose 9.3% in the third quarter and are now up more than 51% on the year. By comparison, the S & P 500 slipped about 3.6% in the third quarter and is currently a little more than 17% higher in 2023. GOOGL .SPX YTD mountain Alphabet vs. the S & P 500 this year Combined, the entire Alphabet holding increased by almost in the latest quarter, according to InsiderScore. It’s the largest holding in the fund. That was one of just a few changes Ackman made to the fund, which has a small number of total holdings. Ackman raised his Hilton Worldwide position by more than 10%, to over 10 million shares worth $1.55 billion. The hotel stock climbed about 3% in the third quarter and currently stands some 32% higher for the year. On the other hand, Ackman cut back on home improvement retailer Lowe’s by more than 5%, lowering its value to some $1.5 billion at the end of the quarter from $1.7 billion. The North Carolina-based company slid 8% in the third quarter, and is currently up by less than 2% for the year.
