The Top Stock Picks From D E Shaw’s $68 Billion Portfolio

#3 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)

 – Shares Owned by D E Shaw (as of September 30): 5.7 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $742.9 Million

Moving on, the stock of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B) has suffered a steady decline this year and currently trades with year-to-date losses of 9%. The third quarter was considerably volatile for a resilient stock like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), which might have been the reason why D E Shaw trimmed its stake in the company by 3% during that period. On November 6 the company reported fantastic third quarter earnings, owing mostly to the $4.4 billion profit it realized from the completion of the Kraft Foods/H.J Heinz merger deal. Whereas Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)’s revenue for the quarter at $58.99 billion was slightly below analysts’ estimates of $61.12 billion, its operating earnings of $2,769 per class A share were above estimates of $2,760.20. On November 10, analysts at Nomura reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. Boykin Curry‘s Eagle Capital Management increased its stake in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. by 9% to slightly above 11.24 million shares during the third quarter.

#2 Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)

 – Shares Owned by D E Shaw (as of September 30): 9.94 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $763.53 Million

D E Shaw reduced its stake in its former largest equity holding, Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) by 14% during the third quarter, relegating the company to the second spot in its equity portfolio at the end of September. After remaining range-bound throughout most of 2015, shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) have undergone a significant rally in the last two months and currently trade with year-to-date gains of 27.81%. On October 23 the company announced that its Vice President of Investor Relations, Kevin Mitchell, will become the executive vice president of finance and CFO on January 1. Analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating on the stock on November 10, but upped their price target on it to $102 from $100. Wayne Cooperman‘s Cobalt Capital Management reduced its stake in the company by 26% to 313,381 shares during the third quarter.

#1 Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC)

 – Shares Owned by D E Shaw (as of September 30): 21.35 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of September 30): $34.59 Million

Finally, after increasing its stake in Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) by 2,118% during the second quarter, D E Shaw again upped its stake in the company, by 27% during the third quarter. Shares of Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) made a U-shaped recovery in the period between August and October and currently trade up by 24% year-to-date. On November 17, Marathon Petroleum Corp announced that in connection with its pipeline subsidiary MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX)’s acquisition of MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MWE), it has agreed to further increase the amount of the one-time cash consideration payable to MarkWest common shareholders to $6.20 per unit. Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson‘s Adage Capital Management was one of the hedge funds that initiated a stake in the company during the third quarter; it held 1.58 million shares of the company as of September 30.

Disclosure: None