Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital Reported a New Stake in $WSM

Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital LLC reported on September 30th that the firm had opened a span-new passive position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM). Based on the 13G file, Lone Pine Capital LLC had purchased 5.8 million shares of WSM before the declaration, and now controls 5.6% stake of the stock. The stock was wavering in a channel between $30 and $34 when Lone Pine Capital sought the opportunity. It’s possible that Lone Pine Capital did several transactions near the bottom since the late August. Currently WSM is trading at $29.22.

Seventeen hedge funds had WSM in their portfolios in the second quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management owned 709 thousand shares, increasing by 44% from Q1. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had 683 thousand shares, after a decrease of 40%. So after the disclosure on September 30th, Lone Pine Capital might have become WSM’s No. 1 hedge fund owner.

Lone Pine Capital LLC is owned by Stephen Mandel, who has $17 Billion assets under management. He’s a “bottom-up” investor with great stock picking skills. He returned about 23% during the past 11 years, beating the S&P 500 index by more than 20 percentage points per year. According to its 13F in the second quarter, the firm mainly invests in Technology, Services, and some other sectors.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. was found in 1956, and is a nationwide specialty retailer of high-quality products for the home furnishing. The firm markets its products under the brands Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm. Products are mainly sold through retail and direct-to-customer channels.