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MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

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What big-time investors are snapping up and selling off

By
Laura Lorenzetti
Laura Lorenzetti
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By
Laura Lorenzetti
Laura Lorenzetti
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May 16, 2014, 2:48 PM ET
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FORTUNE — It’s a particularly busy Friday on Wall Street, as investors and traders pour over quarterly filings that reveal which stocks in-the-know fund managers are loving (and not loving) and how much of it they’re buying (or selling). The 13F filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission help Wall Street-ers divine a broader strategy behind what stocks are considered hot and not, so here’s where some of the market’s top soothsayers are placing their bets.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) went bullish on Verizon (VZ), adding 11 million shares for a total value of $524 million. Buffett presciently sold off 10 million shares of General Motor (GM) last quarter, avoiding the recent stock drops in the wake of the company’s vehicle recalls and a hefty government fine. He also reduced his stake in oil and gas company Philips 66 by about 64% to 9.7 million shares.

John Paulson, best known for his $15 billion payday betting against sub-prime mortgages, put his money  on Verizon as well, purchasing 8.7 million shares for a total of $416 million. His hedge-fund firm Paulson & Co., meanwhile, took a rosier view of GM and increased its stake by almost 115% to 4 million shares. One of Paulson’s biggest sell-offs was $375 million worth of Family Dollar (FDO) shares.

David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management was in lock-step with Paulson on GM, opting to boost his ownership in the Detroit, Mich.-based auto manufacturer by nearly 59% to 7.9 million shares. Tepper also put over $218 million down on Priceline (PCLN) and another $50 million toward Facebook (FB) shares. Meanwhile, he sold off all of his shares on five companies: EMC Corporation (EMC), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) and Transocean (RIG).

Barry Rosenstein’s GM outlook aligned with Buffett’s dim view as his Jana Partners sold off nearly all of its GM stake, cutting 8 million shares to just 7,100. Rosenstein opted to place his money in Groupon (GRPN), increasing his stake of class A shares in the daily deals site by 9.8 million for a total of 40.8 million shares.

Bill Ackman, the famous and sometimes infamous activist investor, made very few changes in his Pershing Square Capital Management ownership, but his most notable move was buying up almost 29 million shares of Allergan (AGN) — or 9.7% of the company — in a bid to sell the drug maker to rival Valeant (VRX). Ackman also bet on the rising demand for rental units by buying into two rental-focused REITs: Apartment Investment and Mangement Company (AIV) and Home Properties (HME).

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