Larry Robbins’ Glenview Capital has disclosed in two filings with the SEC two bullish moves, including adding a new holding to its equity portfolio. Robbins seems to be impressed with what Carl Icahn has managed to accomplish through his activist stake in Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE:MTW), as Glenview has revealed a new passive stake in the soon-to-be-split company, which contains 8.61 million shares, equal to 6.34% of its common stock. In addition, Robbins has upped his fund’s passive stake in Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD), another company involved in an activist campaign. Glenview has disclosed ownership of 11.59 million shares, a 6.32% stake, a large increase over the 8.76 million shares held at the end of 2014.
As mentioned, Icahn was instrumental in convincing Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE:MTW) to split its two core businesses into separate companies, a move which had previously been championed by activist investor Ralph Whitworth as well. The new position makes Glenview the third largest shareholder among funds we track, trailing only Icahn Capital and Whitworth’s Relational Investors, which own 10.58 million shares and 11.50 million shares respectively.
Though Manitowoc Company Inc (NYSE:MTW) is down by 14.29% over the past six months, it has gained more than 10% since the announcement of the split. Such moves by activist investors are one of the primary reasons why we closely monitor their involvement in companies, and why it can be a great strategy to piggyback such investments as opposed to directly investing with the funds in question, which usually involves large fees that these fund managers take.
In the case of Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD), activist investor Tom Sandell of Sandell Asset Management recently pushed for changes at the company, which represents one of his top picks heading into 2015. The steps proposed by Mr. Sandell included a shakeup of the company’s board and the appointment of himself and two other people to the board, as well as the sale of some of its assets. Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:BKD) last week announced its intentions to add more assets to its portfolio instead, being set to purchase a portfolio of senior housing communities from Chartwell Retirement Residences for $849 million.
Robbins was already the second-largest shareholder among funds we track heading into this year, only slightly behind Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Invesment Group, which owns 9.15 million shares. Brookdale is also up by nearly 10% since Sandell went public with his demands on February 5.
Let’s move on to Robbins’ top new picks from the fourth quarter, which are Apollo Education Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) and Jarden Corp (NYSE:JAH). In Apollo Education Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) Robbins opened a position of 5.40 million shares during the quarter, making him the largest shareholder among the funds we track. Josh Resnick’s Jericho Capital Asset Management also opened a large new position that contains 1.26 million shares as of the end of 2014.
One of the largest providers of private education in the world, Apollo Education Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) announces its second quarter 2015 results tomorrow, and investors will be looking for positive news following disappointing results in early January that contributed to the stock’s 18% decline since the beginning of the year. Enrollments have been sluggish for several quarters due to intense competition in the higher education sphere, and revenue per student is expected to continue dipping.
In Jarden Corp (NYSE:JAH), Robbins initiated a stake that contains 2.88 million shares, making him the third largest shareholder among funds we track behind Murray Stahl’s Horizon Asset Management, which had a 7.63 million share position, and Senator Investment Group with 3.75 million shares. Jarden Corp (NYSE:JAH) operates dozens of brands in the branded consumables, as well as consumer and outdoor solutions industries. Among the most prominent are Sunbeam, Oster, Crock*Pot, Coleman, and Rawlings.
Shares of Jarden Corp (NYSE:JAH) have been on an impressive run since the beginning of 2012, up more than 300% over the past three years. Despite the strong run, analysts who have weighed in on the stock over the past two months see more upward momentum in its future and continue to rate it as a ‘Buy’, including analysts at JP Morgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank, and Jefferies Group.
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