Apple Got Dumped: Hedge Fund Billionaire David Tepper Dumps Apple, Adds In Pipeline Partnerships

First Posted: May 14, 2016 07:32 AM EDT
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Hedge fund billionaire David Tepper's Appaloosa Management increased its stake in pipeline partnership and dumped his huge Apple investment in the first quarter, according to a filing with the SEC.

According to data from Bloomberg, Tepper had previously held 1.26 million shares, last valued around $133 million. On April 28, Carl Icahn announced that he had sold all his shared of Apple because of the increasing growth in China. Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn has also been decreasing his stake for some time. This is surprising because hedge funds have long loved Apple stock. As of August 2015, there were 146 out of the 833 hedge funds tracked by Goldman Sachs had the company as one of their largest positions. This earned the iPhone maker the number 2 spot on Goldman's list of stocks for "most loved" by hedge funds, Yahoo Finance reported.

Since then, Apple has faced slowing sales of iPhones and disappointing earnings which sent the stock to its low. In fact, the company lost its status as the most valuable in the world.

Tepper's firm's largest additions were to Energy Transfer Partners LP, an investment valued at approximately $523 million as of the end of March, and Williams Partners LP, which has a $271 million position.  Tepper's fund, Appaloosa Management, also bought 945,000 shares of the troubled pharmaceutical company Valeant, worth $24.8 million during the first quarter. He has since sold the stake in the company, however, making a profit from the trade.

Energy Transfer has a whooping rise of 9.2 percent this year with its dividends being reinvested, while Williams Partners has returned almost 17 percent.  The two was set to merge until last month when Energy Transfer Equity's chief executive warned that the deal might not work because of an unresolved tax issue. Both shares climbed up on the news. Brent crude oil has gone up from a low of about $28 in January to almost $48 today, which helps energy stocks.

According to the filing, Tepper has also taken a new position in Facebook, buying 1.6 million shares in the first quarter, and Bank of America with 6.9 million shares. He also reduced his stake in General Motors Co. by about 80 percent to a holding valued at $75 million as of March 31. He's held the stake in the carmaker since early 2012.

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