Billionaire Marc Lasry’s Top Picks Heading Into 2015: YRC Worldwide Inc (YRCW), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co (HMHC), Meritor Inc (MTOR), More

Meritor Inc (NYSE:MTOR) moves up to third, and is the only position Lasry increased during the fourth quarter out of those in his top five. He added 461,909 shares to his portfolio, giving him 7.81 million total, a 6% increase. While Meritor did not make Lasry’s top five a year ago (it was seventh), he was extremely bullish on it during that quarter, increasing his holding by 93%. Meritor responded with a very strong 2014, up 57.2% in 2014.

It did however dip to a low of $9.93 in early October, which may have been around the time Lasry decided to pad his position slightly. Meritor’s Letter to Shareowners filed with the SEC on December 5 showed that Lasry owned 9.21 million shares at the time, so he had increased his position significantly during the previous two months, and would end up selling 1.4 million of those shares off by the end of the year, as shares rebounded to close the year at $15.15.

Meritor Inc (NYSE:MTOR) was undoubtedly Lasry’s most lucrative equity position in 2014, and one he continues to have faith in heading into 2015. The supplier of parts and logistics for the trucking industry has come out with a number of revolutionary new products in early 2015, including its Aftermarket Programming Tool to speed up the process of configuring new electronic control units, as well as the MTIS™ Tire Inflation System for Trucks, which automatically monitors and inflates tires as needed.

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN) is another position Lasry made a fairly large cut to, trimming it by 29% during the fourth quarter. He sold 1.11 million shares, leaving him with 2.62 million shares of the Houston, Texas-based coal and gas-power generation company, which operates in five states.

Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN) is another position Lasry has held for some time, opening it during the fourth quarter of 2012, after the company left bankruptcy protection. This was another of Lasry’s top performing stocks in 2014, returnign 40.51% on the year.

However indicators suggest it’s starting to pick up some bearish sentiments, which may have triggered Lasry’s trimming. The stock’s 50-day moving average dipped below its 200-day moving average recently, a signal known as the “death cross”, and Zacks downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform’ on January 30, with a price target of $26.50, below its Friday close of $28.39.