Billionaire David Tepper Has Invested 38% of His Portfolio in These 5 Dividend Stocks

Is David Tepper an income investor? Nope. The hedge fund manager (and Carolina Panthers owner) probably doesn’t factor dividends into his thinking much, if at all, when picking stocks.

However, that doesn’t mean Tepper doesn’t own plenty of dividend stocks. There are more of them in the billionaire’s Appaloosa Management hedge fund than you might think. He’s invested 38% of his portfolio in these five dividend stocks.

1. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) ranks as the top holding in Tepper’s Appaloosa hedge fund. As of Sept. 30, 2023, it owned 1.95 million shares — more than 11.5% of the overall portfolio at the time.

Until recently, Meta wouldn’t have made a list featuring Tepper’s dividend stocks. However, the social media leader announced on Feb. 1, 2024 that it’s initiating a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. This translates to a dividend yield of around 0.44%. It’s not great, but it’s a start.

2. Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) trails Meta as Tepper’s second-largest position. Appaloosa owned 1.64 million shares of the technology giant at the end of the third quarter of 2023, enough to make up nearly 10.2% of the hedge fund’s portfolio.

Many big tech companies don’t pay dividends. Microsoft, though, initiated a dividend program way back in 2003.

Its dividend currently yields 0.74%. The company has increased its dividend payout by an impressive 168% over the last 10 years.

3. Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) isn’t the third-largest position for Tepper. That honor belongs to Amazon.

However, the graphics processing unit (GPU) maker is the billionaire’s No. 4 holding, comprising 8.8% of his total portfolio. Appaloosa owned 1.02 million shares of Nvidia at the end of Q3.

Unlike Amazon, Nvidia pays a dividend. Granted, it’s not a huge one: The chipmaker’s dividend yield is only 0.02%. Still, the company has increased its payout by 88% since initiating a dividend program in 2015. With a dividend payout ratio of barely over 2%, the company could easily boost its…