While it’s easy to read too much into 13Fs, the time delay and the single snapshot after a quarter of activity make them hard to interpret, they’re still one of the few tools we have to gauge the changing interest that investment funds have in the markets, and looking for big shifts can point to attractive investments (aggregate data via Bloomberg, Edgar, Dataroma).
Also see 13F Filings For Q2: Buffett, Loeb, Einhorn, Druckenmiller, Griffin, Berkowitz, Tepper, Mandel
13F – Top new/increased positions for 2Q14
National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV) had the most interest from institutional investors last quarter including a 43% bump in the position that David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital holds. Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors also increased its position 25%, while Ariel Focus, Wedgewood Partners, First Eagle US Value, Dodge & Cox, Olstein Value, and Markel Asset Management also added, though Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) reduced its position by 17.7%.
Seth Klarman’s Baupost initiated a position in eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) while Omega Advisors, Hillman Focused, Weitz Value, and Dodge & Cox all increased their positions last quarter. Fellow tech giant Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) also had a lot of interest as Lou Simpson’s SQ Advisors, Brave Warrior Advisors, Oakmark Select, Ariel Focus, and Markel Asset Management all increased their stakes.
Other companies that either had at least four funds initiate new positions or increase existing ones include Navient Corp (NASDAQ:NAVI), major banks Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), both Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Google Inc Class C stocks, The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX), credit card companies Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) and Visa Inc (NYSE:V), United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL), and NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW).
13F – Top sold/reduced positions in the second quarter
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) share were sold off by Wintergreen Advisers and reduced by Whitney Tilson’s T2 Partners Management, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Arlington Value Capital, Wedgewood Partners, and Akre Capital Management.
DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) reduced by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Weitz Value, and completely sold out by Oakmark Select, Ariel Focus, and Akre Capital Management. Qualcomm (QCOM) was reduced by Omega Advisors, Matrix Advisors Value, and Century Management Advisers, while Lone Pine Capital and David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management closed their positions entirely.
13F – Corning and others reductions
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was reduced by Hancock Classic Value, Mairs & Power Growth, and Century Management Advisers, while Matrix Advisors Value and Yacktman Focused Fund both sold their entire positions.
Other stocks that at least four funds either reduced or sold out during the second quarter include SLM Corp (NASDAQ:SLM), Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), major banks Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), and the oil and gas companies Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM).
