Hess Corp. (HES), Apple Inc. (AAPL) & Robert Raiff’s Favorite Stocks

Raiff Partners is a New York City-based hedge fund managed by Robert Raiff, a former Soros Fund Management employee. In investment circles, Raiff is known as a value investor, centering around companies with a healthy cash flow and very little debt. It’s important to pay attention to the best stock picks of the top hedge funds, because it’s possible to beat the market by tracking them. (Learn more details about our strategy here)

Earnings Analysis: Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES)In a similar way, it’s worth it to take a look at the world’s 10 top hedge funds. Let’s take a look at the five largest holdings in Robert Raiff and Raiff Partners’s equity portfolio.

In Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), Raiff Partners reported a stake of 126,000 shares, worth about $9.0 million. Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) is a new addition to the equity portfolio of Raiff Partners. Through this acquisition, Raiff joins over 80 other hedge funds that hold shares of Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES).

The second-largest holding from the Raiff Partners’s 13F portfolio is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in which the hedge fund disclosed ownership of 20,000 shares, worth almost $8.9 million. During the first three months of 2013, the stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined by about 17%, moving one position down, after being the most valuable stake during the last quarter of 2012.

Next on the list is Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), which is represented in the equity portfolio of Raiff Partners by a $6.0 million stake, which contains 58,000 shares. This is also a new position. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)’s stock has a year-to-date return of over 30%.

We should also mention Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), in which Robert Raiff’s hedge fund disclosed a stake worth almost $6.0 million, which involves 250,000 shares. Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s stock has scored an impressive YTD return of over 82%.

The fifth-largest pick in the Raiff equity portfolio is another new position, Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). The hedge fund reported a $5.5 million stake, which contains 54,000 shares. Aside from Raiff Partners, more than 50 other hedge funds reported stakes in Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN).

As its top picks indicate, Raiff Partners focuses on diversifying its equity portfolio, picking some of the best companies from the healthcare, technology, and financial sectors. On the whole, the 13F portfolio includes stakes in 57 companies, and has a value of about $127.5 million. Some other 13F portfolios we’d recommend taking a look at are: Jeffrey Altman’s Owl Creek, Miura Global, and Coatue Management.

Disclosure: none.