CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) falls behind Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) in the battle for cable provider bragging rights in Whetstone’s portfolio. Despite the drop they actually increased their position in CBS by 13%, as opposed to the 8% increase in Gray. It was Gray’s strong fourth quarter performance which muscled it past CBS, which also enjoyed a solid quarter, rising 3.4%. Shares are still down well down since it closed 2013 at $63.14 however.
CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) announces its fourth quarter results tomorrow, with FactSet projecting adjust EPS of $0.76. However the financial world has been abuzz over something else entirely, as rumors have begun to circulate that a reunion between CBS and Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA), which originally spun off from CBS at the end of 2005, could be in the cards should Sumner Redstone, the majority owner of both companies, pass away soon. The 91-year-old Redstone has suffered from failing health that has led for his calls to step down from his management position with CBS, while CBS CEO Les Moonves has reportedly been seeking ways to acquire his shares.
Other shareholders will be watching those developments closely are Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners, which owned 10.33 million shares as of September 30 (and also has a huge stake in the last company to be featured, Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB)), and Peter Adam Hochfelder’s Brahman Capital, which owned 8.29 million shares, making it their second most valuable long position as well.
Lastly is Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB), which Whetstone made their most bullish move on during the fourth quarter, increasing their position by 149%. Williams enjoyed a strong 2014, rising 17.34% for the year, largely on the strength of their buyout of Access Midstream Partners LP in the middle of June. They also hiked their quarterly dividend to $0.56 on September 10, from $0.43 the previous quarter.
However, Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB) has struggled since the start of the fourth quarter, falling 18.81%. Despite that, there’s a lot of potential upside in the company, especially from that Access Midstream division, which merges with another of the company’s MLP’s, Williams Partners LP, later this year. Williams is also planning on building a propane dehydrogenation plant in Alberta, Canada beginning this year that would convert that country’s overabundant and cheap propane into much more valuable polypropylene that will be shipped domestically and internationally.
Keith Meister’s Corvex Capital is a big believer in Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB), with ownership of 41.68 million shares, worth 27.82% of the value of their entire $8.29 billion equity portfolio as of September 30. As mentioned, Soroban Capital Partners is also a large shareholder (also its most valuable position) with 21 million shares, while Robert Pitts’ Steadfast Capital Management owned 6.21 million shares, its second most valuable position.
Disclosure: None
