Will Sara Lee’s Largest Stock Supporters Turn Cautious in the Near-Term?

So far in 2012, Sara Lee Corp.’s (NYSE:SLE) shares are up 49.31 percent. Next week, the company will be replaced by Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) on the S&P 500 index on June 28.  While Monster’s sales have been on the rise, Sara Lee’s have been on the decline. Sales have gone from 2002′s $17.6 billion to last year’s sales of $8.7 billion, reported Forbes.

Next week, the company will spin off its coffee and tea unit into a new business called D.E. Masters while its North American food business will evolve into Hillshire Brands and will be listed on the S&P MidCap 400 index.

Will the declining sales and upcoming changes, will Sara Lee’s largest shareholders cut their holdings?532 institutional firms indicated owning shares of Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE) in Q1 2012. These firms reported owning a total of 471.265 million shares on 03/31/2012. The shares closed at $21.53 on 03/31/2012.

Here are the ten largest positions in Sara Lee Corp. at the end of March 31st, 2012.

Credit Suisse AG/ held 26,782,862 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $576,635,037. This brought the portfolio total to 0.66%.

Morgan Stanley held 25,625,075 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $551,707,882. This brought the portfolio total to 0.3%.

Vanguard Group Inc held 24,025,660 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $517,272,476. This brought the portfolio total to 0.07%.

State Street Corp held 22,517,489 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $484,801,554. This brought the portfolio total to 0.07%.

Blackrock Institutional Trust Company N.A. held 15,192,818 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $327,101,382. This brought the portfolio total to 0.08%.

Sasco Capital Inc / CT/ held 11,958,330 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $257,462,853. This brought the portfolio total to 5.26%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc held 10,640,829 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $229,097,056. This brought the portfolio total to 0.11%.

Capital Research Global Investors held 10,456,911 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $225,137,301. This brought the portfolio total to 0.1%.

Third Point LLC held 10,275,000 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $221,220,757. This brought the portfolio total to 5.44%.

Bank of America Corp /DE/ held 9,526,267 shares on 03/31/2012 worth $205,100,535. This brought the portfolio total to 0.11%.

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