When we're making investment decisions, it's never a bad idea to look toward the quarterly 13F filings. The most recent report has definitely raised some eyebrows, especially with big players reducing their stake in certain Mag-7 stocks.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa)
Most of us should know that the legendary Warren Buffett has cut his stake in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) by about 50% — with a whopping 390 million shares sold. Apple currently makes up just above 30% of Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE:BRKb) portfolio, which has raised concerns among investors with regard to the future of the renowned tech powerhouse.
While Warren Buffett himself had stated in his annual shareholders meeting that the sale of Apple stock was mainly in view of a potentially higher capital gains tax rate, there may be further details to unpack with regard to the stock's valuation.
The stock currently trades at about 33 times earnings and free cash flow, which is high even for a tech giant like Apple — the company's price-to-FCF is almost at its 10-year all-time-high of 34. Analysts forecast Apple's earnings-per-share to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of about 11%, essentially matching the S&P 500's historical returns.
Yet, the stock trades at a premium compared to the index, which has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 27. While this is not necessarily conclusive, one can argue that Apple stock is surely not as attractively-valued as it was a year ago.
Duquesne Family Office
The family office founded by American investing giant Stanley Druckenmiller seems to have a similar bearish outlook on some of the Mag-7s — with its holdings in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) tumbling by 64% and 88% respectively.
Such a big reduction in stake in these two tech giants is potentially concerning, considering that Stanley Druckenmiller has been long-known in the investing community as a tech bull. A closer look reveals that the two companies trade at over 40 times their free cash flow, which is definitely on the higher end.
Appaloosa Management
Recent filings by the famed hedge fund run by the brilliant David Tepper has also shown pessimism in the outlook of Mag-7 stocks. In particular, Appaloosa had reported a reduction in holdings of Microsoft, Meta (NASDAQ:META), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Nvidia.
Most notably, the hedge fund had divested about 84% of its holdings in Nvidia. Positions in other semiconductor giants like AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) were also trimmed, possibly in view of the gradual "popping" of the semiconductor bubble. With money flowing out of the usual names in big tech, it begs the question — is investing in the Mag-7 necessarily the best bang for your buck at current valuations? Big players seem to disagree with this idea.
Bottom Line
While this is far from a conclusion on the intrinsic valuation of Mag-7 stocks, it's still noteworthy — especially for value investors. With the whales rotating their funds out of these companies, it's imperative that we consider whether it is wise to do the same.