Practical analysis for investment professionals
21 November 2012

13F Watch: Latest Portfolio Moves by Buffett, Einhorn, Klarman and Others

Posted In: Equity Investments

A review of the aggregate SEC Form 13F filings for the third quarter of 2012 revealed that US institutional investors added to their holdings in energy and financial stocks, and reduced their exposure to the industrials and consumer staples sectors. Portfolio managers as a group added to positions in Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), General Electric (GE), Procter & Gamble (PG), and Cisco Systems (CSCO), and trimmed positions in Pfizer (PFE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AT&T (T), Coca-Cola (KO), and Oracle (ORCL).

In The Hedge Fund Mirage, Simon Lack observed that “if all the money that’s ever been invested in hedge funds had been put in Treasury bills instead, the results would have been twice as good.” With that disclaimer in mind, here’s a quick look at some of the notable portfolio changes made by several influential investors in the most recent quarter.

  • Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital): Ackman established new positions in Burger King Worldwide (BKW) and Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX), and eliminated his stake in Citigroup (C). At the end of the third quarter, Ackman’s top holdings included Procter & Gamble (PG), General Growth Properties (GGP), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), Beam (BEAM), and JC Penney (JCP).
  • Kyle Bass (Hayman Advisors): Bass initiated new positions in Hyatt Hotels (H) and Sealy (ZZ), and eliminated positions in Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR), Tellabs (TLAB), Whiting USA Trust II (WHZ), Dynegy (DYNIQ), and GasLog (GLOG). Bass’s top holdings at the end of the third quarter included Six Flags Entertainment (SIX), Electronic Arts (EA), API Technologies (ATNY), H, and ZZ.
  • Bruce Berkowitz (Fairholme Funds): Berkowitz established new positions in Lincoln National (LNC) and General Motors (GM). At the end of the most recent quarter, American International Group (AIG), Bank of America (BAC), Sears Holdings (SHLD), St Joe (JOE), and MBIA (MBI) were Berkowitz’s top holdings.
  • Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway): Buffett and his investing lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, initiated positions in Deere (DE), Precision Castparts (PCP), WABCO Holdings (WBC), and Media General (MEG), and eliminated positions in CVS Caremark (CVS), Dollar General (DG), and Ingersoll-Rand (IR). Top holdings at the end of the quarter included Coca-Cola (KO), Wells Fargo (WFC), International Business Machines (IBM), American Express (AXP), and Procter & Gamble (PG).
  • David Einhorn (Greenlight Capital): Einhorn established new positions in Yahoo! (YHOO), Babcock & Wilcox (BWC), and AECOM Technology (ACM), and sold positions in UnitedHealth Group (UNH), CareFusion (CFN), Hess (HES), Expedia (EXPE), Best Buy (BBY), and Compuware (CPWR). At the end of end of the quarter, top holdings included Apple (AAPL), Seagate Technology (STX), General Motors (GM), Cigna (CI), and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX). A noted short-seller, Einhorn recently made public his firm’s short position in Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG).
  • Jeremy Grantham (GMO): Grantham’s most notable new positions included Nexen (NXY), Cencosud SA (CNCO), AMERIGROUP (AGP), Shaw Group (SHAW), and Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO). Notable sells included New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU) and Cementos Pacasmayo SAA (CPAC). At the end of the most recent quarter, top holdings included Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Oracle (ORCL), Pfizer (PFE), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT).
  • Seth Klarman (Baupost Group): Klarman added a new stake in Rovi (ROVI) and sold his position in Hess (HES). Top holdings at the end of the quarter included BP PLC (BP), Oracle (ORCL), Via Sat (VSAT), Theravance (THRX), and News Corp (NWSA).
  • Dan Loeb (Third Point): Loeb established new positions in Modelez International (MDLZ), Symantec (SYMC), Autodesk (ADSK), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Nexen (NXY), WESCO International (WCC), NXP Semiconductor (NXPI), and BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN). He sold out of positions in News Corp (NWSA), Capital One Financial (COF), Plains Exploration & Production (PXP), DISH Network (DISH), Liberty Interactive (LINTA), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Humana (HUM), Aetna (AET), Thoratec (THOR), and Informatica (INFA). At the end of the most recent quarter, top holdings included Yahoo! (YHOO), American International Group (AIG), Apple (AAPL), Delphi Automotive (DLPH), and Murphy Oil (MUR).
  • Howard Marks (Oaktree Capital): Marks initiated new positions in Dial Global (DIAL), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Apollo Global Management (APO), Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CIG), and Pulse Electronics (PULS). Positions in General Motors (GM), Spirit Airlines (SAVE), and Tata Motors (TTM) were eliminated. Top holdings at the end of the third quarter included Charter Communications (CHTR), Delphi Automotive (DLPH), EXCO Resources (XCO), CIT Group (CIT), and First BanCorp/Puerto Rico (FBP).
  • Barry Rosenstein (Jana Partners): Rosenstein established new positions in Aetna (AET), QEP Resources (QEP), Priceline.com (PCLN), American International Group (AIG), Liberty Ventures (LVNTA), Teekay (TK), Rockwell Collins (COL), Pentair (PNR), Dollar General (DG), Michale Kors Holdings (KORS), Blyth (BTH), Eagle Materials (EXP), Liberty Ventures (LVNAR), and Post Holdings (POST). He eliminated positions in Energizer Holdings (ENR), Phillips 66 (PSX), AOL (AOL), Barnes & Noble (BKS), Warnaco (WRC), Strayer Education (STRA), SunCoke Energy (SXC), Forest Oil (FST), Exelis (XLS), Spectra Energy (SE), and Progressive Waste Solutions (BIN). At the end of the quarter, top holdings included Agrium (AGU), Liberty Media-Liberty Capital (LMCA), Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), McGraw-Hill (MHP), and Coventry Health Care (CVH).

Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.

Photo credit: ©iStockphoto.com/DarioEgidi

About the Author(s)
David Larrabee, CFA

David Larrabee, CFA, was director of member and corporate products at CFA Institute and served as the subject matter expert in portfolio management and equity investments. Previously, he spent two decades in the asset management industry as a portfolio manager and analyst. He holds a BA in economics from Colgate University and an MBA in finance from Fordham University. Topical Expertise: Equity Investments · Portfolio Management

2 thoughts on “13F Watch: Latest Portfolio Moves by Buffett, Einhorn, Klarman and Others”

  1. Christopher Allen says:

    I’m just wondering if you will be posting articles of this kind each quarter?

  2. Lei Guang says:

    Hi chris,

    The info can be obtained from whale wisdom or sec.gov. You can also purchase an API to pull the data automatically to your workbook for each 13F fillings.

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