Hedge fund holdings day: Top managers show their hands

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

David Tepper

Wednesday marks 45 days since the end of the second quarter, or as it's known in the financial community, "13F Day."

At the SEC's 45-day deadline, some of the world's biggest hedge funds report their holdings as of the end of the quarter.

Though the data is already 6 weeks old, it still offers some insights into what top investors were thinking—stocks and sectors they liked and disliked over the spring and early summer.

(But In a preview of how things may have changed since then, Bespoke Investment Group released a study Wednesday showing institutional investors grew noticeably bearish on both stocks and bonds in the last month).

Following are significant moves from some of the industry's biggest names in the second quarter.

(Read more: The golden age of activist investing)

David Tepper

Tepper's Appaloosa Management was actually ahead of the pack, filing late Tuesday. The firm's big move was adding 7 million shares of Goodyear Tire, potentially making him the company's largest shareholder.

Besides Goodyear, Tepper also added to stakes in Chicago Bridge & Iron and Hertz.

Leon Cooperman

Cooperman's Omega Advisors made a laundry list of moves during the second quarter, though the most notable was a small new position in Apple.

But Cooperman seems to have soured a bit on metals, liquidating stakes in Freeport-McMoRan and a number of gold- and silver-related ETFs and other products. Reuters reported that a number of hedge funds soured on gold in the quarter.

Cooperman told CNBC he agreed with Carl Icahn that Apple was cheap, adding that he got back into the stock in the low $400s. On Wednesday, it broke $500 a share.

Philippe Laffont

Laffont's Coatue increased its stake in Apple Inc from some 400,000 shares to 1.6 million shares. The fund cut its position in Green Mountain Coffee Roasters by 2 million shares, leaving it with roughly 3 million shares at the end of the second quarter.

Chase Coleman

Coleman's Tiger Global Management went the other way on Apple in the quarter, dissolving a stake in the company.

The firm also got out of Google, J.C. Penney and Disney in the quarter, but added to positions in News Corp and Amazon.com.

Nelson Peltz

Peltz's Trian Fund Management bought 5.8 million shares of DuPont in the second quarter, confirming reportsthat he had taken a position in the company.

His positions in Mondelez and PepsiCo, two companies he has suggested should merge, also rose slightly.

Carl Icahn

Icahn's quarterly filing offers no hints of the one position people care about most: Apple. Its absence suggests he built his position entirely since the beginning of July.

But it does reflect more than 152 million shares of Dell, where Icahn has been waging a battle with management over a proposed go-private deal.

George Soros

Soros added to his stake in J.C. Penney in the quarter, with an extra 2 million shares that potentially makes him the second-largest holder of the stock.

John Paulson

Paulson was another manager shedding gold exposure during the quarter, showing a smaller stake in a popular gold ETF. But he also added to his position in Freeport-McMoRan during the quarter.

Bill Ackman

Ackman, who recently left Penney's board, kept up his stake in the retailer during the quarter.

He also maintained stakes in old favorites like Burger King and General Growth during the period, while shedding a stake in Mondelez.

David Einhorn

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital shed its holdings of both Microsoft and CBS during the quarter, while cutting its GM position.

But the firm added Rite Aid during the quarter and also raised its position in Aetna.

Dan Loeb

Loeb's Third Point sold all of its Hess and Apple during the quarter, but added new positions in Walt Disney and Elan.

—CNBC's Scott Wapner contributed to this report.

—Reuters contributed to this report.