Starboard Value LP, an activist hedge fund headed by Jeffrey Smith, disclosed that its equity portfolio has a market value of more than $1.827 billion for the first quarter based on its latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
During the quarter, the activist hedge fund initiated a new position in three stocks, boosted its stock holdings in five companies, reduced its stake in ten stocks and sold out its entire stake in two stocks.
Starboard Value Largest stock holdings
Starboard Value’s largest stock holding is Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), which accounts for 20.13% of its portfolio. The activist hedge fund owns 7,250,000 shares or an approximately 5.5% stake in the restaurant operator.
The activist hedge fund recently sent a letter to the board of directors of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) urging them to stop wasting time and “take the necessary steps to expeditiously hold the Special Meeting” requested by shareholders in a timely manner.
Starboard Value opposes the plan of the restaurant operator to separate or spin-off Red Lobster before the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders. The activist hedge fund filed preliminary proxy materials with the SEC related to its solicitation of proxies for the Special Meeting wherein it will present a non-binding board resolution urging the board of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) not to approve any agreement or proposed deal involving Red Lobster’s spin off.
The second largest position of Starboard Value is iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA:IWM)—PUT option, which represents 16.80% in its portfolio followed by Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP) 10.46%, Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA) 6.14%, and Wausau Paper Corp. (NYSE:WPP) 5.22%.
Starboard Value New stock holdings
During the quarter, Starboard Value initiated new positions in Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE:AAN), a specialized retailer of consumer electronics, computers, residential furniture household appliances and accessories. The activist hedge fund also acquired stakes in RealD (NYSE:RLD), a licensor of 3D technologies; and RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD), a designer and manufacturer of radio frequency (RF) solutions.
The activist hedge fund owns 2,300,000 shares of Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE:AAN) worth around $69.552 million; 2,250,000 shares of RealD (NYSE:RLD) worth approximately $21.133 million and 2,893,741 shares of RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) with about $22.093 million market value.
Starboard Value Increased positions
Starboard Value boosted its stake in Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP) by 2,873,913 shares; Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA) by 50,000 shares; LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE:LXU) by 265,000 shares; Unwired Planet Inc (NASDAQ:UPIP) by 300,000 shares and Entropic Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTR) by 325,000 shares.
Starboard Value Reduced & sold out positions
During the quarter, Starboard Value reduced its stake in Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC) by 1,150,000 shares; Integrated Device Technology Inc (NASDAQ:IDTI) by 5,534,557 shares; TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TQNT) by 8,245,522 shares; Polycom Inc (NASDAQ:PLCM) by 4.4 million shares and Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ:CPWR), by 3.1 million shares among others.
The activist hedge fund also sold its entire stake in Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
