Tim Mullen’s Swift Run Capital Management recently disclosed with the SEC its long equity positions as of the end of the second quarter of 2014. This fund holds an equity portfolio valued at more than $228 million. It focuses on financial stocks, which comprise almost 45% of its total portfolio, and, to a lesser extent, on basic materials (30%).
Over the second quarter of 2014, Swift Run started two new equity positions – MeadWestvaco Corp. (NYSE:MWV) and Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA), increased its stakes in another 25, and sold out of only one – Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT). Let’s take a look at some of the fund’s most interesting picks for the quarter.
Swift Run’s largest stake continues to be in Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), a $31.4 billion market cap global integrated energy company of which the fund owns 288,837 shares, following a 4% increase in its stake over the quarter. This position is valued at roughly $28.5 million, more than double what it was worth by the end of the previous quarter. The fund’s position in Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) accounts for approximately 12.5% of the total value of its equity portfolio.
Another major hedge fund manager betting on Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) is Paul Singer, of Elliott Management, who last reported holding 17.3 million shares, up by 2% on the quarter.
Swift Run’s second largest position also remained unchanged in rank. After adding 51,871 shares (up by 7%) to its holding, the fund owns 718,007 shares of Colony Financial Inc (NYSE:CLNY), worth more than $16.6 million. This $2.11 billion market cap real estate investment and finance company has been feeling the bullishness of other major hedge funds, including Emanuel J. Friedman’s EJF Capital, which started a position in Colony Financial Inc (NYSE:CLNY), with more than 8.7 million shares, during first quarter of 2014. John Brennan’s Sirios Capital Management also initiated a stake of 3.4 million shares of Colony Financial Inc (NYSE:CLNY) during the first three months of the year.
On the opposite sidewalk, we can find Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Swift Run decreased its stake in the tech giant by 11% during the second quarter, and now owns less than $1 million in stock, equal to 19,240 shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Another fund cutting its exposure to the company is John Croghan and Richard Fradin’s Rail-Splitter Capital Management, which sold out its 165,200 shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) over the second quarter of 2014.
Regarding Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT), the fund had already trimmed its stake by 96% over the first quarter of the year, and finished selling all of its remaining 80,704 shares over the second quarter. Ben Levine’s LMR Partners also closed out its position in Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT) over the second quarter of 2014, after disposing of 310,612 shares of the company.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks or funds mentioned
