Apple Inc. (AAPL) & Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) Shares Sold By Leon Cooperman & Dan Loeb Respectively

Hedge funds with equity portfolios of at least $100 million are required to disclose their holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) no later than 45 days after the end of a calendar quarter, with the most recent deadline for the reporting period of March 31 landing on May 15. This process reveals to investors the holdings of some of the top hedge funds in the world and their sentiment towards stocks, both positive and potentially negative. The latest round of filings has revealed that some prominent hedge funds have unloaded their holdings in the stocks of both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA). The Street’s Scott Gamm reported on ‘TheStreet’ about these developments.

“Billionaire Dan Loeb’s $10.9 billion Third Point hedge fund sold its ten million share ownership in Chinese commerce company Alibaba (BABA) during the first quarter. The fund also purchased 3.3 million shares of Yum! Brands (YUM) and maintained its stake in auction house Sotheby’s (BID). That’s according to the fund’s 13F filing, which the Securities and Exchange Commission requires all hedge funds to file, 45 days after the end of the quarter. It reveals what stocks each fund holds. Friday was the deadline to file the form. Meanwhile, Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors, a $6.2 billion fund, sold its stake in Apple (AAPL) – some 383,000 shares – during the first quarter. It also sold roughly 86,000 shares of Anadarko Petroleum (APC). The fund also upped its stake in JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to about 1.1 million shares, from 941,000 during the fourth quarter of 2014,” Gamm reported.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which owns one of the most profitable businesses ever, has been the preferred stock among investors in our database for several quarters and appeared well on its way to being the most popular stock among funds yet again for the current filing period. However, that doesn’t mean that all investors are sold on the future prospects of Apple. Billionaire Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors sold off its entire 383,790 share stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the first quarter. As Gamm noted, Cooperman’s Omega Advisors’ equity portfolio stands at $6.2 billion as of the latest reporting period. In addition to Cooperman’s sale of 86,000 shares of Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) and purchase of 159,000 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), his fund also opened a $105.64 million position in Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), which we ranked as the number one potential takeover target in 2015.