The Latest Purchases in David Dreman’s $3.5bn Fund: First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (FNFG), Berry Petroleum Company (BRY)

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) saw a slight bump in popularity amongst hedge funds going into the end of last year. Of the 400+ funds we track, 15 owned the stock in Q4 2012 versus 12 in Q3. The $1.7bn company develops technology for water, electric, and gas metering applications and keeps global operations. Dreman allocated $14mm to the company, joining billionaire Glenn Russell Dubin of Highbridge Capital Management, who also initiated a position in ITRI last quarter (check out his portfolio positions here). Boosting shareholder value, Itron announced earlier this month that it will launch a $50mm stock buyback program that could potentially repurchase almost 3% of outstanding shares.

Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) received a $7.6mm capital commitment from the hedge fund and was the smallest company that made it onto our list; its market cap is measured in millions, not billions ($875mm to be exact). The company makes tools and equipment used in the manufacturer of semiconductor devices. Despite KLIC’s small size, its balance sheet is a financier’s dream with almost $500mm in cash and zero debt. That cash stockpile might lead to a possible buyback or dividend redistribution for stockholders in the future, but no concrete announcement has been made yet. D. E. Shaw reduced its position in half going from Q3 2012 to Q4 (view the fund’s full holdings here).

Disclosure: I do not own shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.