Jeffrey Furber’s AEW Capital Management recently disclosed the sale of its entire stake in Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (NYSE:AHH). Prior to this transaction, the investment firm held a position of 362,000 common shares, which amounted to more than 5% of the company’s outstanding stock. Jason Capello’s Merchants’ Gate Capital also dropped one of its holdings last week, selling off its holding in Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE). By shedding its stake of 1.95 million shares in the company, the hedge fund has exited one of the largest positions it once held in its equity portfolio.
AEW Capital Management is a global provider of real estate investment management services that is currently managed by Jeffrey Furber. In addition to its activities in the private real estate markets, the Boston-based firm invests in public equities. AEW Capital’s private market holdings are acquired with a value-oriented and opportunistic approach. On the other hand, it employs diversified and long/short strategies for its investments in publicly traded companies. According to its latest 13F filing, the investment firm’s largest holding was in Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE:SPG), which accounted for almost 12% of its $4.8 billion equity portfolio. AEW Capital’s other top picks for the end of 2014, included Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) and Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP). While these stocks were already amongst its largest positions at the end of the second quarter of 2013, the firm remains optimistic, disclosing an increase in its exposure to all three holdings last quarter.
AEW Capital Management’s latest 13G filing revealed it has shed its entire stake in Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (NYSE:AHH). While the firm entered a position in the equity in the second quarter of 2013, it has been gradually reducing its exposure to the stock since the beginning of last year. Although the company’s share price lost around 17% of its value throughout the past year and a half, the stock gained almost 4% during the fourth quarter of 2014. Considering this poor performance, it seems AEW Capital had chosen a good time to sell its remaining shares.
Although Armada Hoffler Properties Inc (NYSE:AHH) did not have a great 2014, it seems things might be different this year. Since the beginning of 2015, share prices have climbed by around 12% and the company continues to enjoy the backing of major institutional investors. J. Alan Reid’s Forward Management is very bullish regarding the stock, holding a position of 1.49 million shares. During the third quarter, Israel Englander’s Millenium Management drastically increased its stake in the company and continues to hold 248,900 shares.
Merchants’ Gate Capital also decided to abandon one of its holdings at the end of the year, as revealed by the 13G Form filed with the SEC last week. The recently disclosed transaction comes as quite a surprise, since Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE) was amongst the investment firm’s top three most valuable positions at the end of the third quarter. Only four years after being launched, the New York-based hedge fund that was founded in 2007 by Jason Capello managed to rank amongst the 100 largest U.S. equity focused hedge funds, and its equity portfolio is currently valued at around $1.2 billion.
According to the hedge fund’s last 13F filing, Green Plains was its third largest holding, accounting for 5.7% of its equity portfolio. Since Merchants’ Gate Capital initially disclosed it had entered a new position in the company at the beginning of 2014, share prices grew considerably. While the company’s share price experienced an increase of 28% throughout the past year, the stock actually gained more than 130% in the first 9 months of 2014. Hence, it seems the hedge fund did not view its stake in Green Plains as a long-term investment, as it began trimming its position as share prices grew.
Mr. Capello’s firm was not the only institutional investor keen on cashing in on short term profits derived from the rapid growth of Green Plains Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s stock price. While Louis Navellier’s Navellier & Associates held a position of 946,600 shares at the end of the third quarter, they reduced their stake in the company by 98% last quarter. Nevertheless, the $1.01 billion market cap ethanol producer does have the backing of major investors, which seem to be in for the long-run.
Disclosure: none.
