Value Investor Daily #26

In Q1 2024, several top-tier investors made significant portfolio adjustments, showcasing their strategic moves in the current market environment.

Going through 13F filings is like Christmas for value investors. Let’s look at the first quarter updates from some of today’s super investors and see if we can’t find a few ideas worth exploring.

Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway)

Buys:

• Liberty Sirius XM Series A (LSXMA), Liberty SiriusXM Series C (LSXMK)

• Chubb Limited (CB)

• Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

Sells:

• Chevron Corp. (CVX)

• Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX)

• Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI)

• Apple (AAPL)

• Paramount Global CL B (PARA)

• HP Inc. (HPQ)

Highlights:

• Apple (AAPL): Buffett reduced his stake by 12.83%, affecting his portfolio by -6.01%. Following the sale, Berkshire Hathaway holds 789,368,450 shares of Apple. This makes up 40.81% of its portfolio.

• Chubb Limited (CB): Buffett increased his holdings by 28.97%, representing a 0.46% change in the portfolio. The total shares held now are 25,923,840. Chubb makes up 2.03% of the portfolio. This was the “secret position” Buffett had been building up recently.

Berkshire Hathaway's current portfolio value is $331.7 billion, comprising 41 stocks. The top ten holdings include Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC), American Express (AXP), Coca-Cola (KO), Chevron (CVX), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Moody's (MCO), Chubb (CB), and DaVita (DVA).

Daniel Loeb (Third Point)

Buys:

• Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE)

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

• Apollo Global Management (APO)

• Meta Platforms Inc. (META)

• Corpay Inc. (CPAY)

• WESCO International Inc. (WCC)

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

• S&P Global Inc. (SPGI)

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP)

• Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL)

• Goldman Sachs Group (GS)

• Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK)

• Gartner Inc. (IT)

• Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN)

Sells:

• Vistra Corp. (VST)

• Bath & Body Works Inc. (BBWI)

• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

• International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF)

• Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER)

• United States Steel Corp. (X)

• DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD)

• McKesson Corp. (MCK)

• BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN)

• Social Leverage Acquisition Corp. WTS (SLAC.WS-OLD)

• TMC the Metals Company Inc. WTS (TMCWW)

Highlights:

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): Loeb increased his position by 21.43%, affecting his portfolio by 2.09%. He now owns 5,100,000 shares. Amazon makes up 11.83% of his portfolio.

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Newly acquired, this holding now represents 5.82% of Loeb's portfolio with 3,000,000 shares.

• United States Steel Corp. (X): Completely sold off, resulting in a -4.06% portfolio change.

• DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD): Also fully sold, with a -4.05% impact on the portfolio.

Third Point’s portfolio is valued at $7.78 billion, consisting of 38 stocks. The top ten holdings include PG&E (PCG), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Bath & Body Works (BBWI), Meta Platforms (META), Danaher (DHR), Alphabet (GOOGL), Vistra (VST), and AIG.

Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management)

Buys:

• None

Sells:

• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG)

• Lowe's Cos. (LOW)

Highlights:

• Lowe's Cos. (LOW): Completely sold, impacting the portfolio by -2.67%.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG): Reduced by 9.82%, now holding 743,984 shares. Chipotle makes up 20.10% of the portfolio.

Ackman’s portfolio is valued at $10.8 billion and consists of just six companies: Chipotle (CMG), Hilton Worldwide (HLT), Restaurant Brands (QSR), Alphabet Class A (GOOGL), Howard Hughes (HHH), and Canadian Pacific (CP).

Nelson Peltz (Trian Fund Management)

Buys:

• None

Sells:

• Ferguson plc (FERG)

• Allstate Corp. (ALL)

Highlights:

• Ferguson plc (FERG): Reduced by 40.49%, impacting the portfolio by -4.62%. Peltz now holds 2,493,687 shares. Ferguson is 6.79% of the portfolio.

• Allstate Corp. (ALL): Reduced by 19.90%, affecting the portfolio by -1.20%. Peltz retains 2,237,269 shares. Allstate represents 4.83% of the portfolio.

Trian Fund Management’s portfolio is valued at $8.02 billion and consists of nine stocks: Disney (DIS), Janus Henderson (JHG), General Electric (GE), Wendy's (WEN), Invesco (IVZ), Ferguson (FERG), Allstate (ALL), GE HealthCare (GEHC), and Sysco (SYY).

The “Big Short” Investor Michael Burry (Scion Asset Management)

Buys:

• RealReal Inc. (REAL)

• JD.com Inc. (JD)

• Block Inc. (SQ)

• Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA)

• Safe Bulkers Inc. (SB)

• Vital Energy Inc. (VTLE)

• HCA Healthcare Inc. (HCA)

• Citigroup Inc. (C)

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP)

• American Coastal Insurance C (ACIC)

• Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK)

• Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS)

• Cigna Group (CI)

• BP plc (BP)

• First Solar Inc. (FSLR)

• Baidu Inc. (BIDU)

Sells:

• Oracle Corp. (ORCL)

• CVS Health Corp. (CVS)

• Nexstar Media Group (NXST)

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

• MGM Resorts International (MGM)

• Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)

• Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (WBD)

• Bruker Corp. (BRKR)

• Toast Inc. (TOST)

• Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (MTD)

• Big Lots Inc. (BIG)

• Gen Restaurant Group Inc. (GENK)

• Qurate Retail Group Inc. CL A (QRTEA)

Highlights:

• JD.com Inc. (JD): Increased by 80%, impacting the portfolio by 4.24%. Burry now owns 360,000 shares. JD.com makes up 9.53% of the portfolio.

• Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA): Increased by 66.67%, affecting the portfolio by 3.50%. Burry holds 125,000 shares. Alibaba represents 8.74% of the portfolio.

Scion Asset Management’s portfolio is valued at $103 million, comprising 16 stocks. The top ten holdings include JD.com (JD), Alibaba (BABA), HCA Healthcare (HCA), Citigroup (C), Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS), Block (SQ), Cigna (CI), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), BP (BP), and Vital Energy (VTLE).

Takeaways

These were some fascinating moves from some of the best investors in the world.

It’s revealing that two of them, Ackman and Peltz, found nothing to buy, but they all found something to sell. The market is extended here, and money managers are likely taking some chips off the table as a group.

How can you use these 13F reports to become a better investor? Look at any moves that don’t make sense and dive deeper.

Why is Michael Burry investing in two bulk shipping companies right now?

Why did Dan Loeb reduce his Microsoft stake and increase his Google holdings?

Why did Bill Ackman completely sell out one of his biggest long-term winners, Lowe’s?

You’re bound to learn a lot. Enjoy!

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