Medical Device Makers Top Tamarack Capital’s Portfolio

Another medical device maker, Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX), came in second in Tamarack Capital’s portfolio, with the fund holding 400,000 shares of the company, valued at $56.66 million. This was after the fund upped its stake in the company by 74% during the quarter. In June, Becton, Dickinson and Co. (NYSE:BDX) announced a partnership with Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) to introduce a new insulin pump infusion set to the market, using the BD FlowSmart technology. The pump is already approved by the FDA and Health Canada, and is aimed at improving the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The company recently announced a dividend of $0.60 per share for stockholders of record as of September 9, 2015, payable on September 30, 2015. At the end of the second quarter, Pzena Investment Management, headed by Richard S. Pzena, held a total of 373,824 shares with a value of $52.95 million. Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors on the other hand held a total of 325,013 shares of the company valued at $46.04 million after selling 62,134 shares during the quarter.

Third on Tamarack Capital’s top picks is Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX), of which it held 700,000 shares with a market value of $50.76 million on June 30, after raising its stake in the company by 75% during the second quarter. The company recently released its second quarter earnings results, which beat analysts’ consensus estimates. Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX) posted diluted earnings per share, excluding extraordinary items, of $0.81 on revenue of $1.93 billion. The revenue was slightly higher than the $1.93 billion that analysts expected. The stock has gained 8.19% year-to-date and is up by 19.92% over the past year. At the end of the second quarter, Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, held a total of 183,397 shares with a value of $13.30 million. David Harding’s Winton Capital Management owned a total of 164,233 shares valued at $11.91 million, though it trimmed its stake by 333,377 shares during the quarter.

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