Madison Street Partners’ Top Q4 Stock Picks Headed by Media Stocks

#3 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

 – Shares held (as of September 30): 34,675

 – Total Value (as of September 30): $3.83 million

After a 32% reduction, Madison Street’s stake in Cupertino-based tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) represented about 14.5% of its equity portfolio. So far this year Apple Inc.’s stock has appreciated by over 7%. The technology innovator was planning to offer a live Internet-based television service with about 14 channels for a monthly subscription in the $30-to-$40 range. However, the plan has been shelved as an agreement couldn’t be reached with media companies, who wanted a larger piece of the pie than Apple was willing to offer. On the other hand, Apple TV is scheduled to be updated early next year. Famous activist investor Carl Icahn of Icahn Capital LP is the largest stockholder of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) within our database, holding more than 52.76 million shares.

#2 Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK)

 – Shares held (as of September 30): 140,648

 – Total Value (as of September 30): $5.77 million

Madison Street reduced its Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK) holding by 43% during the July-to-September quarter. Shares of the $24.38 billion media company have fallen by over 16% this year. However, the company’s financial results for the third quarter show a promising future for it as it continues to shift its focus away from television and towards the broadband and telephony segments. This trend is vital for Liberty if it’s to thrive in a cord-cutting environment, which has caused deep cuts to the top lines of many North American media companies. The broadband segment was the leading growth segment for the company in the quarter, with 222,000 net additions, followed by telephony, which added a net 159,100 customers. Boykin Curry‘s Eagle Capital Management owns over 30.31 million shares of Liberty Global plc – Class C Ordinary Shares (NASDAQ:LBTYK).

#1 Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK)

 – Shares held (as of September 30): 189,109

 – Total Value (as of September 30): $6.52 million

After a 17% hike during the third trimester, Madison Street’s holding of Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK) shares represented 24.7% of the fund’s portfolio. The stock has risen by almost 10% during the last 12 months, compared to a 7.85% average gain posted by the TV Broadcasting industry. Aforementioned investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway is the largest stockholder of Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK) among the investors that we track, as it holds about 15.39 million shares of the company.

Disclosure: None