Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) Ready to take Breather?

Hedge funds Lone Pine Capital and Maverick Capital, run by Steve Mandel and Lee Ainslie, cut their holdings in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), suggesting concerns over valuations in the companies grow.

According to a Thomson Reuters survey of filings of the "Smart Money 30," some of the largest stock-picking equity hedge funds, a number of other funds slashed stakes in the two tech companies as well.

Patrick Becker Jr at Becker Capital Management noted, "Apple is a company that has to come up with hit after hit after hit, every 12 to 18 months. But once you do the iPhone on Verizon, what's the next thing past this? Apple's five-year growth rate has been 58 percent on earnings -- that's got to slow going forward."

"Google is at an uncertain transition point, said Reuters, citing Bryan Keane, an equity analyst for the Alpine Mutual Funds. "The ad market is maturing and the mobile business is only a small part of it at this time. From a hedge fund perspective, it may not look as interesting."

Others like Mike Binger, a fund manager at Thrivent Financial, disagree, saying Apple "is a very cheap stock at a very cheap multiple with an extremely high growth rate. I see this company growing 20 percent-plus, top and bottom line, at least for the intermediate term."

Apple was trading at $353.92, dropping $6.08, or 1.69 percent, as of 2:20 PM EST. Google was trading at $589.28, down $11.34, or 1.89 percent.