(Adds Third Point eBay and Yum stakes; background on AIG)
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Sam Forgione
NEW YORK/BOSTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Top U.S. hedge fund
management firms, including Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC, took new
positions in Morgan Stanley (N:MS) MS.N during the fourth quarter,
ahead of the bank's cost-cutting measures and bond-management
reshuffling.
Third Point purchased 3 million shares, while Carlson
Capital bought 2.2 million shares to own 2.3 million shares
during the last three months of 2015, regulatory filings showed
Friday and Tuesday.
Adage Capital added to its position, buying 1.6 million
shares to own 4.5 million shares at the end of the quarter, SEC
filings showed.
So far this year, Morgan Stanley shares are down more than
27 percent. In January, Morgan Stanley named Sam Kellie-Smith to
head its fixed-income trading unit as it seeks to turn around
the struggling business. The bank said it was cutting 25 percent
of its fixed income jobs because increased regulation has made
trading bonds less profitable.
These hedge-fund SEC disclosures are backward-looking and
come out 45 days after the end of each quarter. Still, the
filings offer a glimpse into what hedge fund managers saw as
investment opportunities.
The filings do not disclose short positions, or bets that a
stock will fall. As a result, the public filings do not always
present a complete picture of a management firm's stock
holdings.
The following are some of the hot stocks and sectors in
which hedge fund managers either took new positions or exited
existing stakes in the fourth quarter.
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP AIG.N
Omega Advisors increased its stake in the insurer by 731,200
shares to 4.1 million shares. Jana Partners, the hedge fund
founded by Barry Rosenstein, bought 4.3 million shares with a
market value of $263.6 million at the end of the quarter. So far
this year, AIG shares are down 14.5 percent.
AIG has been facing pressure from activist investors Carl
Icahn and John Paulson since October to split up, and last week
nominated Paulson and an Icahn representative to serve on its
board after posting two straight quarterly losses.
Icahn increased his stake in AIG in the fourth quarter to
42.2 million shares from 1.4 million shares.
BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC BAX.N
Activist investor Jeff Smith's Starboard Value nearly
doubled its holding in the healthcare company to 2.4 million
shares. Hedge fund Visium Asset Management bought roughly 1
million shares to own 1.03 million shares. Fellow activist
investor Jana Partners, however, had a different view, slashing
its stake by half to own 5.7 million at the end of the quarter.
EBAY INC EBAY.O
Farallon Capital Management sold its 4.5 million stake in
the online marketplace. Meanwhile, Third Point cut its stake by
5 million shares to 4 million shares.
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO GE.N
John Burbank's Passport Capital, one of 2016's best
performers, opened a new position of 4.9 million shares in the
industrial conglomerate.
HERBALIFE LTD HLF.N
Huber Capital trimmed its stake in the nutrition company by
selling 96,800 shares to own 1.2 million shares now.
HERTZ GLOBAL HOLDING INC HTZ.N
Jana Partners exited the car-rental company, selling 39.2
million shares.
JC PENNEY CO INC JCP.N
Omega Advisors, overseen by Leon Cooperman and Steven
Einhorn, sold its entire stake of 500,000 shares in the
department store chain.
KEURIG GREEN MOUNTAIN INC GMCR.O
Farallon Capital Management took a new stake of 1.6 million
shares in the maker of coffee-brewing machines.
MBIA INC MBI.N
Distressed investor Marc Lasry exited the bond insurer,
selling 75,000 shares.
MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC MDLZ.O
Some existing investors in candy and food maker Mondelez,
which has caught the attention of activists Pershing Square (N:SQ)
Capital and Trian Partners, raised their stakes, including
Passport Capital, which owned 1.2 million at the end of the
quarter.
Zweig-Dimenna Associates bought 187,900 additional shares to
own 394,650 shares. But Boston-based Adage Capital Partners cut
its stake nearly in half, selling 2.2 million shares to own 2.7
million at the end of the quarter.
PFIZER INC PFE.N
Jana added a new stake of 9.2 million shares in the drug
maker. Suvretta Capital added 1.9 million shares to own 2.5
million. Omega Advisors cut its stake by 3.5 mln shares to 1.3
million shares.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES CO PXD.N
Seth Klarman's Baupost Group exited the stock of the oil and
gas exploration company, selling 4.1 million shares. Senator
Investment Group exited its 500,000-share position.
WESTROCK CO WRK.N
Activist investor Starboard Value cut its stake in the
packaging company by 26 percent to 4.5 million shares.
WILLIAMS COMPANIES INC WMB.N
Jana Partners took a new position of 3.8 million shares in
the energy company.
YAHOO INC YHOO.O
Jet Capital added a new position, buying 2.1 million shares
of the Internet company, while Carlson Capital bought 2.9
million shares, also a new position. Yahoo shares are down 18.7
percent year-to-date.
YUM BRANDS INC YUM.N
Serengeti took a new position in the restaurant company,
buying 135,000 shares. Third Point slashed its stake by 11.5
million shares to just 75,300 shares.
ZOETIS INC ZTS.N
Jana Partners sold 3.9 million shares to exit the animal
health company, which was spun off by Pfizer.