Warren Buffett adds new stock pick: Verizon (USA TODAY)
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway released its much-watched quarterly stock-holding disclosure late Thursday, which revealed some shifting in the famed investor’s portfolio. Traders instantly noticed Buffett’s new holding in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) with 11 million shares worth $524 million. Shares of Verizon are up $0.76, or 1.6%, to $47.96 in after-hours trading on the news. Shares of Verizon were not reported in Berkshire’s December 31 disclosure.
SAC’s Steinberg loses bid for insider trading acquittal (Reuters)
A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected a request to acquit Michael Steinberg, a day before the scheduled sentencing on an insider trading conviction for the former portfolio manager at Steven A. Cohen‘s SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in Manhattan rejected various arguments by Steinberg’s lawyers, including that a jury could not have rationally found he knew corporate insiders were receiving benefits to provide illegal tips.
Vermillion Fund Said to Start in Shanghai Free Trade Zone (1) (Businessweek)
Vermillion Asset Management LLC, a New York-based hedge fund firm, incorporated a trading unit in the Shanghai free-trade zone where the world’s second-largest economy is seeking to boost trade and financial services. The unit of Vermillion, 55 percent owned by Carlyle Group LP, is for commodities trading and is led by Ian McGuinn, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the issue is private. Andrew Gilbert, co-founder of Vermillion, declined to comment when contacted via e-mail.
Darden Announces Sale of Red Lobster to Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 Billion (MarketWatch)
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Red Lobster business and certain other related assets and assumed liabilities to Golden Gate Capital for $2.1 billion in cash. Darden expects to receive net cash proceeds, after tax and transaction costs, of approximately $1.6 billion, of which approximately $1.0 billion will be used to retire outstanding debt. The remaining net proceeds of approximately $500 million to $600 million will be deployed for a new share repurchase program of up to $700 million in fiscal 2015.
Major U.S. hedge funds sold ‘momentum’ Internet names in first-quarter (Reuters)
Top hedge funds shed their stakes in high-profile Internet names such as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) in the first quarter, moving to peers viewed as more mature and less volatile. High-growth Internet software and biotech companies were the darlings of 2013, but their shares started to fall sharply in early March. Netflix, last year’s biggest S&P 500 gainer and an important hedge fund holding, is down more than 24 percent from its closing high this year. Hedge funds invested in technology and healthcare fell 3.65 percent in April, the biggest monthly decline since October 2008 and extending March’s 1.8 percent decline, according to data from Hedge Fund Research.
