#3 American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG)
– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 101
– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $10.96 Billion
During the fourth trimester, the number of investment firms holding American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) increased by seven, along with a nearly 30% increase in their aggregate investments, which took the concentration of hedge fund ownership in the company to 14.3% of the float. Activist investors including Carl Icahn and John Paulson have been trying to persuade American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) to retain its property casualty business and spin-off the rest of its assets. The recent settlement of a legal dispute between AIG and Coventry First has opened up a further $3.6 billion portfolio that could also be sold. The insurer will offer the activists representation on the board at the 2016 annual meeting in return for a promise not to wage a proxy war until at least August of this year. As part of the company’s plan to return $25 billion to shareholders over the next two years, AIG increased its quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.32 per share and had bought back about $2.5 billion worth of stock so far this year, through mid-February. Mr. Icahn’s Icahn Capital holds about 42.24 million shares of American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) valued at $2.62 billion.
#2 Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)
– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 106
– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $9.97 Billion
The number of hedgies holding Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) in their portfolios slid by 15 during the October-to-December period, with a 3.2% decline in the value of their aggregate holdings. Not feeling overly confident about the Chinese market, the New York-based bank recently sold its 20% stake in Guangfa Bank for $3 billion. Citigroup is also wrapping up its consumer banking operations in Argentina and Brazil, while the institutional businesses will remain as they are. Mexican oil firm Oceanografia SA, which collapsed in 2014, has filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit against Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) claiming that the bank’s loan scheme that involved $400 million worth of fraudulent accounts receivables was responsible for running it out of business. Billionaire Boykin Curry‘s Eagle Capital Management holds more than 25.26 million shares of Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) valued at $1.31 billion as of December 31.
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#1 Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)
– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 113
– Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $6.80 Billion
The total number of hedge funds in our system with Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) in their portfolios increased by five during the December quarter, with their aggregate investments increasing by 5.6%. Over the last 52 weeks, the stock price of the Charlotte-based bank holding company has depreciated by more than 19%. The bank is planning to greatly reduce its workforce in its capital markets and banking operations divisions, which according to people familiar with the matter, will suffer cuts larger than the 5% annual reduction that typically befalls its investment banking division. Theleme Partners, which is managed by Patrick Degorce, increased its stake in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) by 12% to 16.83 million shares during the fourth quarter.
Disclosure: None
