At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 21 most recent 13-F filings for the 06/30/2014 reporting period, and noticed that Apple Inc (NASD: AAPL) was held by 15 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to take a closer look.
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Before we proceed, it is important to point out that 13-F filings do not tell the whole story, because these funds are only required to disclose their long positions with the SEC, but are not required to disclose their short positions. A fund making a bearish bet against a stock by shorting calls, for example, might also be long some amount of stock as they trade around their overall bearish position. This long component could show up in a 13-F filing and everyone might assume the fund is bullish, but this tells only part of the story because the bearish/short side of the position is not seen.
Having given that caveat, we believe that looking at groups of 13-F filings can be revealing, especially when comparing one holding period to another. Below, let's take a look at the change in AAPL positions, for this latest batch of 13-F filers:
| Fund | New Position? | Change In Share Count | Change In Market Value ($ in 1000's) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augustine Asset Management Inc. | Existing | UNCH | $UNCH |
| LifePlan Financial Group Inc | Existing | +7,425 | +$90 |
| Exchange Capital Management Inc. | Existing | +5,554 | +$107 |
| America First Investment Advisors LLC | Existing | +4,374 | +$83 |
| Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. | Existing | +183,591 | +$3,980 |
| West Oak Capital LLC | Existing | +17,771 | +$336 |
| Weatherly Asset Management L. P. | NEW | +136,613 | +$12,695 |
| Weatherly Asset Management L. P. | NEW | +136,613 | +$12,695 |
| DNB Asset Management AS | NEW | +2,392,101 | +$222,298 |
| Stillwater Investment Management LLC | Existing | +41,123 | +$771 |
| Park National Corp OH | Existing | +167,361 | +$3,688 |
| Park National Corp OH | Existing | +167,361 | +$3,688 |
| Park National Corp OH | Existing | +167,361 | +$3,688 |
| Woodstock Corp | Existing | +83,778 | +$1,543 |
| First American Bank | Existing | +240,663 | +$3,848 |
| Aggregate Change: | +3,751,689 | +$269,510 | |
In terms of shares owned, we count 11 of the above funds having increased existing AAPL positions from 03/31/2014 to 06/30/2014, with 3 new positions.
Looking beyond these particular funds in this one batch of most recent filers, we tallied up the AAPL share count in the aggregate among all of the funds which held AAPL at the 06/30/2014 reporting period (out of the 3,692 we looked at in total). We then compared that number to the sum total of AAPL shares those same funds held back at the 03/31/2014 period, to see how the aggregate share count held by hedge funds has moved for AAPL. We found that between these two periods, funds reduced their holdings by 17,501,452 shares in the aggregate, from 528,431,725 down to 510,930,273 for a share count decline of approximately -3.31%. The overall top three funds holding AAPL on 06/30/2014 were:
| Fund | Shares of AAPL Held | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Vanguard Group Inc. | 46,715,387 |
| 2. | State Street Corp | 35,548,905 |
| 3. | FMR LLC | 25,041,954 |
| 4-10 | Find out the full Top 10 Hedge Funds Holding AAPL |
We'll keep following the latest 13-F filings by hedge fund managers and bring you interesting stories derived from a look at the aggregate information across groups of managers between filing periods. While looking at individual 13-F filings can sometimes be misleading due to the long-only nature of the information, the sum total across groups of funds from one reporting period to another can be a lot more revealing and relevant, providing interesting stock ideas that merit further research, like Apple Inc (NASD: AAPL).
