Michael Price, the president of MFP Investors LLC, disclosed the equity portfolio of his hedge fund has a market value of more than $821 million based on its first quarter 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The filing shows that Price purchased 10 new stocks, increased his stake in 16 companies, reduced his position in 14 equities and sold out all of his shares in seven companies.
Largest stock holdings
During the first quarter, Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) was the largest stock holding of MFP Investors, accounting for 8.07% of its equity portfolio. Hess is a global integrated energy company engaged in exploration & production of crude oil and natural gas as well as marketing and refining petroleum products, natural gas and electricity.
Last week, analysts at Howard Weil upgraded their price target for the shares of Hess Corp. (NYSE:HESS) to $99 per share. The stock closed $88.67 per share on Tuesday. Over the past 52-week range, the stock price of the company traded from $61.32 to $90/29 a share.
The second largest position of the hedge fund is Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which accounts 5.81% of its portfolio, followed by Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB) 4.61%, Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) 3.69% and Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) 3.29%.
Top five new acquisitions
MFP Investors acquired 400,000 shares of QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) worth approximately $11.77 million. Barclays Equity Research recently downgraded its rating for the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight with a $31 price target. QEP Resources closed $31 per share on Tuesday. The board of directors of the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share payable on June 6.
The hedge fund purchased 200,000 shares of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEGR) with a market value of around $9.2 million; Waterstone Financials, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) 800,000 shares worth more than $8.3 million; Popular Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) 153,700 shares worth about $4.7 million, and 25,000 shares of Ashland Inc (NYSE:ASH) worth around $2.5 million.
Increased positions
During the period, MFP Investors increased its stake in Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB) by 609,907 shares, Hess Corp (NYSE:HESS) by 102,500 shares, E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) by 65,000 shares, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB) by 137,100 shares and CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) by 97,500 shares among others.
Reduced stock holdings
The hedge fund reduced its position in Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) by 180,000 shares, Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) by 177,231 shares, Symetra Financial Corporation (NYSE:SYA) by 140,000, and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) by 100,000 shares among others.
Sold out positions
MFP Investors sold its entire stake in Viropharma Inc (NASDAQ:VPHM), Penford Corporation (NASDAQ:PENX), Great Florida Bank (OTCMKTS:GFLB), MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC), Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:GYRO), Axiall Corp (NYSE:AXLL) and Clearwire Corp (NASDAQ:CLWR).
