NEW YORK (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track the top holdings of a variety of high-profile investors, such as George Soros and Carl Icahn. It should come as no surprise that the most popular of these portfolios is that of renowned investor Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the richest people in the world. Today we're taking a closer look at four stocks that Buffett sold in the most recently reported quarter, based on Berkshire Hathaway's most recent quarterly 13F filing with the SEC, which reflects holdings as of March 31, 2014. While Berkshire Hathaway still owns share of each stock, it trimmed its positions by as much as 64%. Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks 1. DirecTV comprises 2.5% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. In the most recently reported quarter, Buffett trimmed his position in the stock by 5.5%, to 34.5 million shares. TheStreet Ratings team rates DirecTV a buy with a Ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings team has this to say about its recommendation: "We rate DirecTV (DTV) a buy. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income."Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: Compared to its closing price of one year ago, DTV's share price has jumped by 35.59%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, DTV should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year. Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 12.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 3.6%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. Net operating cash flow has slightly increased to $1,590.00 million or 3.51% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, DirecTV has also modestly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 2.76%. DirecTV's earnings per share declined by 9.2% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, DirecTV increased its bottom line by earning $5.19 versus $4.61 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($5.90 versus $5.19). 48.68% is the gross profit margin for DirecTV which we consider to be strong. Regardless of DTV's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 7.14% trails the industry average. You can view the full analysis from the report here: DTV Ratings Report Read More: 8 Stocks George Soros Is Buying 2. General Motors comprises 1% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. In the most recently reported quarter, Buffett trimmed his position in the stock by 10 million shares, or 25%, to 30 million shares. The stock shows up on a recent list of Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks and is also a top holding in Mohnish Pabrai's portfolio. TheStreet Ratings team rates General Motors a buy with a Ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings team has this to say about its recommendation: "We rate General Motors (GM) a buy. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself."Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings team are as follows: GM's revenue growth trails the industry average of 21.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 1.5%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.95, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels. Although the company had a strong debt-to-equity ratio, its quick ratio of 0.81 is somewhat weak and could be cause for future problems. General Motors has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past two years. However, we anticipate this trend to reverse over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, General Motors reported lower earnings of $2.35 versus $2.93 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.82 versus $2.35). The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Automobiles industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 80.3% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $1,414.00 million to $278.00 million. In its most recent trading session, GM has closed at a price level that was not very different from its closing price of one year earlier. This is probably due to its weak earnings growth as well as other mixed factors. Despite the stock's decline during the last year, it is still somewhat more expensive (in proportion to its earnings over the last year) than most other stocks in its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays offset this slight negative. You can view the full analysis from the report here: GM Ratings Report Read More: 8 Stocks George Soros Is Buying 3. Phillips 66 comprises 0.7% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. In the most recently reported quarter, Buffett trimmed his position in the stock by 64.1%, to 9.7 million shares. TheStreet Ratings team rates Phillips 66 a buy with a Ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings team has this to say about its recommendation: "We rate Phillips 66 (PSX) a buy. This is driven by multiple strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity."Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings team are as follows: PSX's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 4.5%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.1%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displaying stagnant earnings per share. PSX's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.28 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Compared to its closing price of one year ago, PSX's share price has jumped by 39.76%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, PSX should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year. Phillips 66 reported flat earnings per share in the most recent quarter. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past year. However, we anticipate this trend reversing over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, Phillips 66 reported lower earnings of $5.91 versus $6.41 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($6.43 versus $5.91). You can view the full analysis from the report here: PSX Ratings Report Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks 4. Starz comprises 0.06% of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. In the most recently reported quarter, Buffett trimmed his position in the stock by 57.7%, to 1.9 million shares TheStreet Ratings team rates Starz a sell with a Ratings score of D+. TheStreet Ratings team has this to say about its recommendation: "We rate Starz (STRZA) a sell. This is driven by multiple weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its generally high debt management risk and weak operating cash flow."Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings team are as follows: The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 15.72 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company. Along with the unfavorable debt-to-equity ratio, STRZA maintains a poor quick ratio of 0.76, which illustrates the inability to avoid short-term cash problems. Net operating cash flow has decreased to $41.30 million or 38.13% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower. The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Media industry and the overall market, Starz's return on equity significantly exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. 49.98% is the gross profit margin for Starz which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 15.45% is above that of the industry average. Investors have driven up the company's shares by 28.82% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the future course of this stock, we feel that the risks involved in investing in STRZA do not compensate for any future upside potential, despite the fact that it has seen nice gains over the past 12 months. You can view the full analysis from the report here: STRZA Ratings Report Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks To see these stocks in action, check out the 4 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling portfolio. For Warren Buffett's top 30 holdings, visit the Warren Buffett portfolio at Stockpickr.
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