When any ASX fund manager buys up a substantial position in an ASX 200 stock, it's usually enough to make investors sit up and pay attention.
After all, fund managers are professional investors who are (handsomely) paid to find the best ASX 200 stocks in the market. And while fund managers are human and make mistakes just like the rest of us, many people enjoy finding new investment ideas through these market professionals.
Particularly so when the professional in question is a $1.7 billion heavyweight of the ASX.
Yes, today, we found out about one of Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)'s biggest buys in months.
Magellan is an ASX 200 stock and fund manager behind several popular investment vehicles on the ASX. The Magellan Global Fund, as well as the Magellan High Conviction Fund, the Magellan Infrastructure Fund and the Magellan Sustainable Fund, remain popular choices for many ASX retail investors.
Magellan is also the company behind other investment avenues, such as MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF) and Airlie Australian Share Fund (ASX: AASF).
So what about this latest big pick from Magellan?
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Which ASX 200 stock has Magellan been buying up?
The ASX 200 stock that Magellan has been piling into is none other than education services provider IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL).
IDP Education shares have been through the wringer of late. The ASX 200 stock remains down a painful 29% in 2024 to date and 40% over the past 12 months.
But those falls have clearly helped IDP to pop up on Magellan's radar.
Yesterday, an ASX filing was released that showed Magellan making some significant buys into IDP shares over June and July. The filing reveals that Magellan, though its Airlie division, bought up 3.14 million IDP shares between 4 June and 18 July. The fund manager spent just over $44.5 million on the ASX 200 stock. That took Magellan's stake in the business from 5% to 6.13%.
Its largest purchases were made on 6 June and 18 July. On both occasions, Magellan bought more than a million shares, spending $15.45 million and $18.3 million respectively. Those imply purchase prices of $14.10 and $13.90 per share respectively for those tranches.
So Magellan, through Airlie, is clearly betting big on IDP Education shares as its next ASX winner. But we'll have to wait and see how this latest pick plays out for Magellan.
