The T Rowe Value Fund, meanwhile, sold 8.5 million shares of General Electric Co – once a solid value stock before a corporate turnaround to focus on data analytics that has helped the company trade at a valuation double that of Facebook Inc – and added shares of software company Juniper Networks Inc.
Yet former growth companies that have experienced their ownership base changing over to more value-oriented owners could be in line for more shareholder-friendly demands such as increasing dividends or buybacks, said Todd Rosenbluth, director of mutual fund research at S&P Capital IQ.
"A growth stock is much more likely to get a longer leash because its investors by nature are thinking ahead to what this company could become. Value fund managers by comparison are much more focused on the right now," he said.