Billionaire Dan Loeb Slightly Shuffles Third Point’s Top Picks, Selling Off Large Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA) Stake

Loeb’s Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) holding remained unchanged during the quarter at 22.0 million shares, valued at $1.06 billion. Third Point has held a position in the $58.49 billion company since the last quarter of 2013 and it ranked as the fund’s top pick throughout the middle of 2014. Last year, Loeb urged the management of the world’s second-largest chemicals maker to split the company’s petrochemicals business from its specialty-chemicals business. As if Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) didn’t have enough on its hands, whistleblower lawsuits raising questions about CEO Andre Liveris’ improper expenditures have been popping up recently. The company is defending Liveris, asserting that such claims are baseless and have been thoroughly investigated. Regardless of any controversy Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) has performed well so far this year with the stock appreciating by nearly 12%. Daniel S. Och‘s OZ Management held about 14.48 million shares of Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW) valued at $694.92 million at the end of March.

After a 13% reduction in its stake during the first quarter, Loeb’s Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY) holding occupied the fourth spot in his equity portfolio, consisting of 26.0 million shares valued at $545.48 million. Third Point initiated a stake in the company during the second quarter of last year. The holding has been cut down in all of the following quarters since. The $10.71 billion automotive financial services company is down by 5.3% year-to-date. Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY) has been able to effectively diversify its loan and lease originations as evidenced by its latest financial results. Loan originations that weren’t related to either GM or Chrysler rose by 54% to $2.7 billion during the quarter on a year-over-year basis. Stephen Feinberg’s Cerberus Capital Management is the largest stockholder of the company with ownership of 41.52 million shares.

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