LIVE: 13F updates

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Activist Insight Online is keeping a running tab on new positions as the deadline for disclosing portfolios for the quarter ended December 31 nears. This story will be updated throughout the day.

Elliott Management returned to take a new position in software company LogMein several years after exiting the stock with a loss. Paul Singer’s fund exited several significant energy positions in the fourth quarter, including Hess Corp and Devon Energy.

ValueAct took a new position in FedEx and initiated a roughly 10% position in Verra Mobility. The fund significantly reduced holdings in Morgan Stanley and Alliance Data Systems.

Land & Buildings took a new position in American Homes 4 Rent in the last quarter of 2019 and subsequently stated interest in board representation. It exited Vail Resorts and Mack-Cali Realty.

Mantle Ridge sharply increased its holdings in Aramark Corporation to more than 24 million shares in the fourth quarter and won 6 board seats in an October settlement. The fund liquidated its long-held stake in railroad company CSX Corporation, where it gained five board seats in a 2017 settlement. The stake was worth $2.6 billion as of September 30, 2019.

Sachem Head during the fourth quarter more than doubled its holdings in 2U, and is now calling for a sale of the company. It took a new position in security company ForeScout Technologies which recently agreed to be taken private amid activist pressure from Corvex Management and Jericho Capital. Sachem Head sold its position in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Starboard Value roughly doubled its holding in eBay in the last quarter of 2019 as it prepared for a campaign to unlock value at the online commence company at the start of this year. Jeff Smith’s fund added new position is Mednax, where is has nominated directors, and NortonLifeLock, while exiting Symantec and Perrigo.

Pershing Square disclosed a new stake in Agilent Technologies, buying around 3.3 million shares in the fourth quarter. Bill Ackman’s fund increased its position in Howard Hughes by more than 40%.

David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital made an initial investment in DXC Technology worth around $30 million, while reducing holdings in six holdings, most notably in The Medicines Co, Tempur Sealy and Altice USA, while exiting Dillard’s and Voya Financial.

Carl Icahn increased his stake in Tenneco by more than 50% in the fourth quarter, while reducing his holdings in Occidental Petroleum and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. The veteran activist did not add or exit any positions during the period.

Armistice Capital has disclosed a new stake in Catalyst Pharmaceuticals of just under 5% and in Supernus Pharmaceuticals of just over 3%. It increased by 50% its holding in Aytu BioScience, where it won a board seat in 2018.

Viex Capital added new positions in Extreme Networks, Endurance International and Casa Systems, and increased its position in Red Robin Gourmet Burgers by almost half. Eric Singer’s fund exited Kemet just one quarter after first taking a stake, as well as Carbonite and Avaya Holdings.

Glenn Welling’s Engaged Capital has more than doubled its stake Mediafast to almost 10% of outstanding shares, while reducing its stake in NCR Corp by about 30%.

Strategic Value Partners has exited its stake in IHeart Media and reduced its stake in Genco Shipping & Trading, where it gained a board seat in 2015, by roughly 25%.

Mangrove Partners has taken a new 3% stake in PDC Energy, which last year foiled an attempt by Kimmeridge Energy Management to get on its board. It also disclosed a 26% position in cemetery operator StoneMor, which last year became a c-corporation under pressure from shareholder Axar. Mangroves position in oil company Penn Virginia remained unchanged.

Carlson Capital disclosed a new 7.8% stake in Canadian gaming and online gambling company The Star Group and a position in Tiffany & Co, which is on track to sell itself to French luxury group LVMH. Carlson also increased its stake in Cypress Semiconductor by about 20%.

Eminence Capital has taken a new 4.3% stake in cloud software company New Relic, a 3% stake in Shake Shack and a 2.1% stake in L Brands, which has been under pressure from activist Barington Capital to sell its Victoria’s Secret brand. It also increased its stake in chemical company Ashland to 9.3% after gaining a board seat at the company in December.

Raging Capital Management took a new 1.6% stake in cloud computing company Alarm.com and increased its stake in Castlight Health to 7%.

Scion Asset Management increased its stake at Tailored Brands, where it successfully pushed for a share buybacks last year. The fund also disclosed a new position at Blackberry and exited its stake in Bed, Bath & Beyond.

BlueMountain Capital Management disclosed that it exited its position at Armour Residential and California utility Pacific Gas & Electric, which recently saw a debt-refinancing deal with creditors, including activist Elliott Management, approved in bankruptcy court.

The Children’s Investment Fund disclosed a new stake in Adobe while it exited Transdigm Group.

Red Mountain Capital Partners exited its positions at Air Transport Services Group and Encore Capital Group. The fund also trimmed its stake at Marlin Business Services.

Broadfin Capital dropped its stake at Wright Medical Group and Amag Pharmaceuticals as the firm looks to divest its women’s health operations. The fund increased its stake at Progenics Pharmaceuticals where four of the company’s seven-member board are activist-backed nominees.

Bulldog Investors increased its stake in HL Acquisitions and disclosed a new stake in Juniper Industrial Holdings.

Jana Partners exited its stake in Instructure, as the firm fights to push through a takeover bid from Thoma Bravo despite resistance from activists. The only new position disclosed by Jana was at medical technology company Wright Medical Group.

Cannell Capital dropped its stake at Arotech and cut its position at Emcore and Health Insurance Innovations. The fund also trimmed its stake at Hudson Global, where Cannell had run a proxy contest last year but failed to get any of its five nominees elected.

Oasis Management exited its stake in Sony and Red Lion Hotels, which was the target of a withhold campaign by Vindico Capital last year. Oasis also cut its stake in Tesla from around 22.5 million shares to 5 million.

Altai Capital Management increased its stake in ForeScout Technologies from 0.6% to 3.1% after the company agreed to be taken private by cybersecurity company Advent International and private equity fund Crosspoint Capital Partners.

Marathon Partners Equity Management dropped its entire stake in Cott after the company agreed to buy Primo Water. The activist increased its stake in GrubHub less than a year after the online food delivery company saw a large protest vote against three directors up for re-election at last year’s meeting and nearly doubled its position in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Osmium Partners revealed a new stake in telecommunications firm Cincinnati Bell. Fellow activist Gamco Investors increased its board slate at the company to seven in January, as Cincinnati looks to complete a sale to Brookfield Infrastructure amid an alternative offer from another infrastructure fund. Osmium dropped its stake in Diversicare Healthcare Services, where the fund had previously pushed for an increased dividend in 2017.

K2 & Associates Investment Management has disclosed a new stake in Dollar Tree, which was targeted by Carl Icahn in 2018 and Starboard Value in 2019. The fund also increased its stake in Netflix and Nvidia.

Third Point Partners reported a small stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb, a few months after it completed its acquisition of Celgene, and a stake in newly merged company ViacomCBS. The activist cut its stakes in Microsoft and PayPal, less than a year after suggesting changes at the online payments company. Third Point also exited its stake in Sotheby’s, after it was sold to Patrick Drahi, having attributed some of its 2019 success to the auction house.

Brandes Investment Partners disclosed a new stake at Alibaba Group and slightly increased its stake in PDL Biopharma, which announced plans to launch a strategy review in December following pressure from SevenSaoi Capital.

Cove Street Capital has increased by 26% its stake in CommVault, which was targeted by Elliott Management and now holds around 1% of the stock. Cove Street also took a new 3% stake in Liberty TripAdvisor.

Legion Partners has taken a new 3.6% stake in Cincinnati Bell which is engaged in a proxy fight with Gamco, but had sold its entire stake in pizza chain Papa John’s.

Bandera Partners has increased its stake in Luby’s, where the fund lost a 2019 proxy fight aimed at gaining board representation. Bandera more than doubled its stake in South Africa’s MiX Telematics.