Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership. Form 13Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters and have come in for 2Q24. We review 13Fs of major institutional investors, including activists, to see what they are buying and to look for trends. Activist investing is now less about generating a short-term return and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. The stock-market volatility during 2Q gave those institutional investors a chance to buy a dip. Taking a look at the 13Fs from well-known institutional portfolios, we see that the big guns were busy, either adding new holdings or increasing existing holdings. Buying was across a variety of sectors. Based on Vickers data, the following are select purchases made in 2Q by some high-profile money managers. We also list one significant sale (of Apple by Berkshire) and also note if the holding is now 4% or more of the total portfolio.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

Tesla Inc. manufactures and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems. The company was founded in 2003 and went public in June 2010 (initial public offering at $17 per share on June 29, 2010). Tesla has approximately 49,000 employees. It recently moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas from Palo Alto, California.

Stocks closed mixed on Thursday. The Dow edged higher, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell following a better-than-expected GDP report. Ahead of the Friday's June reading of the PCE and the Michigan sentiment survey, stocks are volatile and likely to end the week with losses.