Daniel Seth Loeb (born December 18, 1961) is an American hedge fund manager and founder of Third Point LLC, a New York based hedge fund managing over $8.8 billion in assets. He is well known as an activist investor and known for writing public letters, in which he expresses disapproval of the performance and conduct of other financial executives.
Although some find his style very effective, some consider it distracting for executives and uncomfortable for investors. Most recently, he was fighting with Yahoo!’s (YHOO) board. According to the 13F regulatory filing dated 3/31/2012, Third Point owns a 5.785% stake in Yahoo! Also, his fund has new stakes in Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG).
Loeb instigated a relentless campaign to get Yahoo! board seat and get rid of CEO Scott Thompson, exposing that Thompson’s resume advertised a computer science degree he had never received. Thompson resigned in May 2012.
According to research firm FactSet Research, hedge funds and other financial players have already initiated 18 activist campaigns in 2012 against companies with market capitalizations greater than $1 billion, more than they put forth against large corporations in all of 2009. FactSet’s data shows that this increase in hedge fund activist campaigns started in the fourth quarter of 2010. There were 47 of these campaigns targeting big companies in 2011.
We clearly see an increase in shareholder activism through the years. We thought it would be important to see the Top Holdings of one of the most famous activist and Hedge Fund Managers Daniel Loeb.
Use the Compar-O-Matic to compare changes in the average analyst ratings for the stocks mentioned below:
1. Yahoo! Inc (YHOO, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences, across devices and worldwide. Market cap at $19.47B, most recent closing price at $15.92.
2. Delphi Automotive PLC (DLPH, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Manufacturers vehicle components. Market cap at $8.86B, most recent closing price at $26.98.
3. Cisco (CSCO, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry and provide services associated with these products and their use. Market cap at $86B, most closing price at $16.36
4. Apple Inc. (AAPL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. Market cap at $565.06B, most recent closing price at $604.30.
5. United Technologies Corp. (UTX, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Provides technology products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. Market cap at $67.65B, most recent closing price at $74.23.
6. Google Inc. (GOOG, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Is the world’s most popular search engine. Market cap at $199.15B, most recent closing price at $610.82.
7. Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Designs, develops, and markets analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, and embedded and standalone ARM-based microprocessor integrated circuits. Market cap at $6.12B, most recent closing price at $10.86.
8. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): A specialty retailer that operates stores and direct-to-consumer operations. ANF sells casual sportswear apparel, including knit and woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, jeans and woven pants, shorts, sweaters, and outerwear, personal care products, and accessories for men, women and kids. Market cap at $2.9B, most recent closing price at $36.71
9. Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates a chain of self-service retail discount stores primarily for low and middle income consumers in the United States. Market cap at $7.8B, most recent closing price at $66.77.
10. Capital One Financial Corp. (COF, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Operates as the bank holding company for the Capital One Bank (USA), National Association and Capital One, National Association, which provide various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Market cap at $32.43B, most recent closing price at $55.88.
Written by Sabina Bhatia
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- Yahoo! Inc (YHOO, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Delphi Automotive PLC (DLPH, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Cisco (CSCO, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Apple Inc. (AAPL, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- United Technologies Corp. (UTX, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Google Inc. (GOOG, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Capital One Financial Corp. (COF, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
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