13F update Wednesday May 16, 2018

Greenlight Capital revealed a holding in Bloomin’ Brands, following activists Jana Partners and Barington Capital Group, which previously pushed for changes at the restaurant company. David Einhorn’s fund also disclosed stakes in a host of retailers including Abercrombie & Fitch, Office Depot, and Tapestry. Meanwhile, Greenlight exited BestBuy, Lowe’s, and SeaWorld during the first quarter.

Third Point Partners exited its investment in Honeywell International, seven months after it praised the industrial goods giant for committing to separate its non-core businesses. Dan Loeb’s fund also exited MGM Resorts International, NXP Semiconductors, and Pinnacle Foods. Additionally, Third Point increased its stake in Dover and slightly decreased its holding it DowDupont. The activist also revealed large stakes in Marathon Petroleum, PBF Energy, and Brazil’s PagSeguro Digital.

Engine Capital built a stake in sandwich eatery Potbelly, which recently gave activist Privet Fund Management one seat on its board and announced a share buyback program. Engine also decreased its holdings in school bus manufacturer Blue Bird and broadcaster CBS. Meanwhile, it exited its investment in food retailer Casey’s Grocery.

ValueAct Capital Management exited Microsoft, five years after a landmark campaign. The Seattle- based PC giant is still the largest company to give an activist a board seat. Mason Morfit’s fund also exited Express Scripts and added a previously disclosed stake in SLM.

Blue Harbour Group added shares in Jack in the Box and Fortinet to its portfolio at the beginning of 2018, dropping stakes in Colony Northstar, Logmein, Treehouse Foods, Zayo Group and current withhold target Macquarie Infrastructure.

Engaged Capital sold stakes in Imax and Medifast to focus on new positions in Aratana Therapeutics, a pet medicine company, and fibre optic cable company Finisar, according to regulatory filings. The activist has already disclosed its new position in Apogee Enterprises.

Elliott Management sold a host of former targets during the first quarter, including NRG Energy, Mitel Networks, and Cognizant. The activist also sold its shares in Alcoa, possibly escaping a large share of the backlash against aluminum from Donald Trump’s trade wars. New positions included favorite Altaba, EQT, and Windstream Holdings, in addition to previously disclosed stakes in Micro Focus and Travelport Worldwide. Notably, Elliott also disclosed two nearly $20 million stakes in Ford and Exxon.

Carl Icahn sold his stake in American International Group (AIG) in the first quarter of 2018, but also dropped an investment in PayPal.

Sarissa Capital Management added Shire to its portfolio, ahead of the Irish drugmaker’s takeover dance with Takeda.

Written by our in-house reporters, this article was first published on Wednesday May 16 onActivist Insight Online. To sign up for a free trial of the service, please click here.

www.activistinsight.com Sachem Head Capital Management was obviously convinced by a campaign at Automatic Data Processing led by Scott Ferguson’s former employer Bill Ackman, buying nearly two million shares in the first quarter. On Tuesday, Ackman said ADP was underestimating its earnings potential. Other new buys for Sachem Head included Fleetcor Technologies, Brazilian payments company Pagseguero Digital, and Worldpay. The fund sold positions in Comcast, Dell, and Vantiv.

Land and Buildings added a new stake in Wynn Resorts, which is reshaping its board after sexual harassment allegations toppled ex-CEO Steve Wynn, in the first months of 2018. The real estate- focused activist also bought shares in Prologis and Marriott International, while only exiting Kilroy Realty.

Viex Capital was evidently watching activist campaigns at Vitamin Shoppe and Acacia Research during the first quarter of 2018, buying stakes in both businesses. Eric Singer’s fund also bought into communications company KVH Industries, and Web.com, which became its sixth largest investment at the end of March. Viex exited Xerium Technologies, Tivo, former target YuMe and Activist Insight Vulnerability candidate Seachange International, among other investments.

Aristeia Capital is no longer invested in Sina, where it ran a in 2017. The first-time activist was accused of being a -term holder of the Chinese social media giant and faced an uphill battle due to powerful insider owners.

Starboard Value exited positions in Cognizant Technology Solutions, Fortinet and Stewart Information Services in the first quarter. Stewart sold itself to Fidelity National Financial during the quarter, leading Jeff Smith’s hedge fund to lock in gains, while Starboard did not make a public demand at either Cognizant or Fortinet. The activist’s only new position was at consumer products rollup Newell Brands, which ultimately settled with Starboard and .

Sandell Asset Management invested in United Technologies, Rockwell Collins, and Blackhawk Network during the first quarter of 2018, according to its Schedule 13F filing. The activist also revealed a stake in NXP Semiconductors ahead of the Dutch company’s merger with Qualcomm. Thomas Sandell’s fund also decreased its position in Barnes & Noble. Earlier this year, Sandell pushed the bookseller to go private.

FrontFour Capital Group piggybacked activist campaigns at Supervalu and Pinnacle Foods in the first quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The activist owned more than $4 million in each company’s , making each position slightly less than 1% of its overall portfolio. The Connecticut-based hedge fund also exited a number of positions, including Hain Celestial, Hilton Grand Vacations and Platform Specialty Products - a materials rollup backed by Pershing Square Capital Management. FrontFour’s largest position is in Obsidian Energy.

The Children’s Investment Fund added new positions in Monstanto, which subsequently received permission to merge with Bayer, and Canadian Pacific during the first quarter of 2018. The London- based activist’s largest U.S. investment is in former Yahoo parent Altaba but it has also hiked its stake in Twenty-First Century Fox recently, as previously reported.

SpringOwl Asset Management has been following activist campaigns at CBS and Xerox, according to its Schedule 13F filing. Jason Ader’s fund dropped a position in Spirit Realty, the subject of a November Activist Insight Vulnerability profile, and Shutterfly.

Written by our in-house reporters, this article was first published on Wednesday May 16 onActivist Insight Online. To sign up for a free trial of the service, please click here.

www.activistinsight.com Jana Partners had three new positions worth more than $100 million at the end of the first quarter, according to an Activist Insight Online analysis. The investments, in Anthem, Autodesk, and Boston Scientific, point to the hedge fund’s interest in software and healthcare. Jana was also invested in drugmakers Teva and Allergan - longer standing positions.

Barry Rosenstein’s fund also dropped a more than $200 million position in ecommerce support business First Data without making a public demand. According to Activist Insight Vulnerability, the company has a moderate chance of attracting another activist this year.

Marcato Capital Management has exited its investments in Rent-A-Center, where it pushed for a sale, and Sotheby’s, which had seen its stock rise 41% in the activist’s four years on the register. Marcato added new positions in chemicals distributor Univar and industrial equipment company Astec Industries.

Written by our in-house reporters, this article was first published on Wednesday May 16 onActivist Insight Online. To sign up for a free trial of the service, please click here.

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