Billionaires Were Selling Out of Yelp, Morgan Stanley, and 3 Other Stocks in Q1

#3. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP)

– Billionaires with long positions (as of March 31): 4

– Aggregate value of billionaires’ holdings (as of March 31): $172.34 Million

There were four billionaires in our system with long positions in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) at the end of the March quarter, compared to nine registered at the end of the prior quarter. The value of those positions also plunged massively, to a mere $172.34 million on March 31 from $698.57 million at the end of 2015. The railroad operator has seen its market value gain 7% since the beginning of 2016 despite operating in a challenging environment. Union Pacific Corporation’s freight revenue declined by $749 million in the first quarter of 2016 to $4.50 billion due to a decline in volume and average revenue per car. Low energy prices continued to have a negative impact on the demand for coal and shale-related products during the quarter. What’s more, the declines in coal, frac sand, crude oil, and pipe shipments have been accompanied by declines in the volume of grain, metal and intermodal being transported. First Eagle Investment Management, run by Mehdi Mahmud, reported ownership of 5.72 million shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) in the latest round of 13F filings.

#2. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

– Billionaires with long positions (as of March 31): 3

– Aggregate value of billionaires’ holdings (as of March 31): $153.31 Million

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has lost its appeal among the money managers with ten-figure fortunes tracked by Insider Monkey, as the number of billionaires invested in the investment bank dropped to three from nine during the first quarter. Correspondingly, the overall value of those billionaires’ equity holdings in Morgan Stanley fell to $153.31 million from $605.62 million quarter-over-quarter. The global financial services company that holds leading market positions in each of its business segments, which include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management, has seen its shares drop by 13% since the start of the year. Morgan Stanley posted net revenue of $7.79 billion for the first quarter of 2016, down significantly from $9.91 billion recorded a year earlier. Meanwhile, the bank’s net income dropped to $1.13 billion, less than half the $2.39 billion figure that it reported for the first quarter of 2015. Ken Heebner’s Capital Growth Management upped its Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stake by 16% during the January-to-March period, to 4.04 million shares.

#1. Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC)

– Billionaires with long positions (as of March 31): 6

– Aggregate value of billionaires’ holdings (as of March 31): $803.58 Million

The number of billionaires invested in Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) fell to six from 13 during the March quarter, while the value of those billionaires’ stakes in the company plunged to $803.58 million from $1.92 billion. The independent petroleum refining company has seen its shares decline by 32% since the start of 2016, mainly due to weakness in gasoline cracks and capture. However, analysts at Deutsche Bank believe Marathon Petroleum has the most upside among its peers should the crude price environment normalize, so the stock represents an attractive play for longer-term-oriented investors. The company’s refining and marketing revenue for the first quarter of 2016 dropped to $10.57 billion, down heavily from $15.38 billion recorded in the same period of the prior year. Shares of Marathon Petroleum are priced at around 8.1-times expected earnings, versus the forward P/E multiple of 10.5 for the oil and gas refining and marketing sector. Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management owns 4.27 million shares of Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) as of the end of March.

Disclosure: None