Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (WHG): Martin Whitman and Third Avenue Management Reduce Stake

Martin Whitman, the manager of Third Avenue Management, has decided it’s time to reduce exposure to Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG). As reported in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 99,253 shares were disposed of, leaving the fund with approximately 315,600 shares, which account for 3.81% of the company’s common stock.

Chuck Royce still likes Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) and has boosted his investment in the company by 3% during the second quarter of this year. His fund, Royce & Associates, reportedly holds approximately 795,200 shares worth in excess of $47.7 million. Jim Simons is another hedge fund guru who has increased his investment in Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) during Q2. His fund, Renaissance Technologies, holds 120,700 shares valued at $7.24 million. Mario Gabelli, on the other hand, has chosen to limit exposure to the stock and has trimmed his stake by 2% to roughly 657,100 shares reportedly worth $39.4 million.

For the three months ending June 30, 2014, Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) posted revenues of $30.9 million and earnings per share of $1.14. Analysts expect the company to do better in the current quarter and increase its revenues to $113 million. With a market cap of $488 million, Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) is traded at a Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.78 and pays an annual dividend of $1.72, which represents a yield of 2.1%.

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) and Aviva Plc (ADR) (NYSE:AV) have announced a potential agreement for Westwood to sub-advise the Aviva Investors Global Convertibles Absolute Return Fund. Former lead portfolio managers for Aviva, David Clott and Shawn Mato are to join Westwood’s new Global Convertible Securities Team.

“The addition of the Global Convertible Securities Team will be the latest in a series of strategic additions that we have made to ensure that we can continue to offer our clients the solutions that they desire,” said Brian O. Casey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Westwood

Martin Whitman is still bullish on Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE:WY) and has increased his fund’s investment in the company by 44% during the second quarter. Third Avenue Management now holds 9.37 million shares valued at roughly $310 million. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK) is still a key part of Whitman’s jigsaw puzzle, although he has chosen to reduce exposure to this stock. In its latest 13F filing, Third Avenue has reported ownership of 5.02 million shares worth $188 million.

Disclosure: none.