Dan Loeb’s Top Bullish Moves During the First Quarter

Dan Loeb, the manager of Third Point is one of the pioneers in activist investing. Third Point had over $15 billion in Assets Under Management at the end of the first quarter of the year and revealed an equity portfolio worth $6.81 billion in the latest round of 13F filings. During the first three months of the year, Dan Loeb’s fund added over 20 new positions to its equity portfolio and raised its stakes in eight of its holdings. In this piece, we will take a look at the five companies, in which Third Point owns the largest holdings and on which the fund has been bullish during the first quarter.

Third Point

On the first spot is Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT), in which the fund initiated a stake during the first quarter, and which currently represents the largest holding in Third Point’s equity portfolio in terms of value. Dan Loeb’s fund currently owns around 2.5 million shares of Actavis, worth $514.63 million. Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT)’s stock gained over 27% since the beginning of the year. Recently, the company has received the final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its generic version of Mallinckrodt PLC (NYSE:MNK)’s Exalgo® drug. Daniel S. Och‘s OZ Management also owns shares of Actavis plc (NYSE:ACT), reporting holding of 2.63 million shares as of the end of March.

Mr. Loeb was also bullish on T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) during the first quarter, raising his exposure to the company by 24% to 9.5 million shares, with an aggregate value of $313.79 million. The stock of T-Mobile remained basically flat since the beginning of the year and sports a forward P/E ratio of 31.00. James Dinan‘s York Capital Management has increased its stake in T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) by almost 60% on the quarter to 11.51 million shares. On the other hand, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. edged down its position by 17% and currently owns 19.20 million shares of T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS).

Sothebys (NYSE:BID) comes in next, with Third Point adding 300,000 shares and raising the stake to 6.65 million shares, worth $289.61 million. As we reported earlier, Third Point is activist on Sothebys (NYSE:BID) and in March nominated three directors to be elected at the company’s shareholders meeting. Richard Mcguire‘s Marcato Capital Management also owns shares of this auction house, revealing a $198.72 million position, which contains 4.56 million shares of Sothebys (NYSE:BID), in its latest 13F.

Third Point initiated a stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF), of which it owns 966,500 shares, worth $251.91 million shares. CF Industries is a $13 billion market cap company engaged in production and distribution of fertilizers. Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Advisors also initiated a position in this company during the first quarter of the year, reporting a $40.72 million stake, with 156,200 shares. David E. Shaw‘s D E Shaw holds 935,300 shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF), according to its latest 13F.

And the last but not the least is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), in which Third Point raised its stake by 50,000 shares to 210,000 shares, reportedly worth $234.05 million. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the most popular stock in hedge funds’ equity portfolios in the latest round of 13F filings. Overall, almost 150 funds from our database revealed ownership of this $381 million tech giant. Boykin Curry‘s Eagle Capital Management owns 797,300 shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), worth $888.56 million.

Disclosure: none