Amid a strong performance of the stock, Locust Wood decided to trim its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 24% during the first quarter to 129,652 shares valued at $16.13 million. Although the tech giant’s new gadget Apple Watch is not going to make an entrance in most stores by June, its shipments have begun today. With regards to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s second new adventure in the technology world Apple Pay, it has been reported that the company is negotiating with Canadian banks to launch its payment platform in the country sometime in November. Famous activist investor, Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital is the largest investor in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), according to our database, with some 52.76 million shares valued at $5.82 billion at the end of 2014.
A total of 86,710 additional shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) have been acquired by Locust Wood during the first quarter to put the total stake to 307,500 shares valued at $29.96 million. The ailing fast food retailer has shown some strength this year as the stock is up by 4.27% year to date. Although the company’s EPS of $0.84 was below the estimate of $1.06 for the first quarter, revenues of $5.96 billion were in line with expectations. An attractive feature of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s stock is its dividend yield, which has landed the company a spot on our list of the top five companies with a stable dividend yield. Mason Hawkins of Southeastern Asset Management held about 11.92 million shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) valued at $1.12 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of last year.
Moving on to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Ericco’s bet in the finance sector, whose stock is slightly down by 0.06% year to date. The financial holding company saw an increase in its revenue in the first quarter owing to a greater contribution from Investment Banking fees and also the strong growth from the core loan segment. Among the billionaires that we track, 10 had investments totaling $1.24 billion in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) at the end of 2014. One of them is Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management, which held 13.52 million shares valued at $846.14 million.
Lastly, Locust Wood initiated a stake in GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK), the investor adding 401,400 shares valued at $18.53 million. Based on interim results of a mid-stage trial in the Ebola stricken Liberia, GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK)’s vaccine for the epidemic appears to be safe. Jim Simmons’ Renaissance Technologies trimmed its stake in GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK) during the fourth quarter to 6 million shares valued at $256.73 million.
Disclosure: None
