Stephen Feinberg, the manager of Cerberus Capital Management, has significantly reduced his position in Tower International Inc (NYSE:TOWR) to around 1.13 million shares. Mr. Feinberg reported selling 3.45 million shares of the company in two transactions, the price amounting to $20.1 apiece. Following the disposal of shares, Mr. Feinberg’s position is worth 9.2% of the company’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

Bruce Berkowitz‘s Fairholme Capital Management disclosed, in a newly amended filing with the SEC, that it has slightly reduced its exposure at The St. Joe Company (NYSE:JOE). Fairholme now owns 25,010,633 shares, equal to 27.1% of the company’s common stock. In the latest 13F, the holding contained 25,017,933 shares.

Disclosure: none

Brian Bares‘ Austin-based Bares Capital has just revealed that it holds only 0.18% of American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:APEI). The firm now holds just 31K shares after disclosing 2.6 million at the end of its last 13F filing.

Disclosure: none

Siena Capital Management, LLC, now holds 246,939 shares of Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC), a new filing with the SEC revealed. The position is passive by nature and amasses 5.2% of the company’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

George Soros‘ Soros Fund Management has just reported initiating a passive stake Arno Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:ARNID), which contains 2,039,333 million shares. The new position is equal to 9.99% of Arno’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

Ithan Creek Master Investors, in a new filing with the SEC, reported a passive stake Essent Group Ltd (NYSE:ESNT), a company that conducted its IPO at the beginning of November. Ithan Creek now holds some 4.69 million shares of the Bermuda-headquartered holding company. The stake amasses 5.61% of the company’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

Raging Capital Management, in a new filing with the SEC, disclosed surging its position in PLX Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLXT) to around 2.83 million shares, versus 730,600 shares mentioned in its latest 13F. The upgraded stake amasses 6.2% of the company’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

The blank check company Quartet Merger Corp (NASDAQ:QTETU) went public on October 30th. Three funds have already disclosed holding  shares of the company, one of which being Davidson Kempner, managed by Thomas Lenox Kempner. The fund reported a 7.13% stake, which amasses 810,000 shares.

Bulldog Investors disclosed owning  an aggregate amount of 700,000 shares, which represent 6.34% of the common stock. Polar Securities’ stake is the largest of all three and amasses 1.6 million shares, equal to 12.62% of Quartet’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

Mason Hawkins‘ Southeastern Asset Management revealed two moves made into Empire State Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:ESRT) and Aon plc Class A Ordinary Shares (UK) (NYSE:AON). In Empire State, a new position in Southeastern’s equity portfolio, the firm disclosed holding around 12.41 million shares, which represent 13.1% of the company’s common stock.

In Aon, Southeastern now holds 10.6 million shares, down from the 18.9 million revealed in its latest 13F. The new stake amasses 3.5% of the company’s Class A Common Stock.

Disclosure: none

Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital has just revealed a 5.3% stake in Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ICPT), a new filing with the SEC indicates. The filing, which is a 13G, indicates that Cohen is here for investment purposes only, and does not seek any activist changes.

Disclosure: none

Karpus Management, a fund that has already been on our radar a month ago, revealed in two separate filing the tweaks it applied to its holdings in The Zweig Total Return Fund, Inc.(NYSE:ZTR) and Western Asset Inflation Management Fund Inc. (NYSE:IMF). In the first filing, Kapus reported owning around 2.08 million shares of Zweig Total Return, up from 1.72 million shares revealed in its latest 13F.

In Western Asset, Karpus now holds some 1.63 million shares, which represents an increase from 1.45 million shares in the latest 13F.

Disclosure: none

As we approach the nexus of third quarter 13F filings (next week), hedge funds have been very active in 13D and 13G land. While the big-name activists, like Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman, weren’t making any headlines, plenty of other fund managers were moving the markets. Let’s take a look at the six most important hedge fund moves of the week, in countdown fashion.

No. 6: Paul Singer revealed a massive activist stake in Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVBD), worth 9.0% of the company when options are included in the calculation.

No. 5: Ricky Sandler and Eminence Capital went activist on The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW) with a stake of 9.8%, and attempted to give the company a lesson in M&A 101.

No. 4: Peter Kolchinsky (below) and his fund, Ra Capital Management, have been very active over the past month, almost exclusively in the small-cap biopharma space. His latest move was a boost of Ra’s Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) holdings, now estimated to be worth 9.9% of the company’s outstanding stock.

No. 3: Cliff Asness, AQR Capital disclosed a stake in Global Defense & National Security Systems Inc (NASDAQ:GDEF) worth more than 10% of its common stock. The company went public a couple of weeks ago.

No. 2: Jeff Smith and Starboard Value, which hold 9.7% of Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE:CCC), reported that they’ve sent a letter to the company’s board asking for a “large” stock buyback and the conversion of its U.S. carbon assets into an MLP structure. Shapiro Capital has since joined Starboard in Calgon.

No. 1: Leon Cooperman revealed a 6.9% stake in beleaguered teen retailer dELiA*s, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLIA) on Tuesday. Shares have blown up since the news broke, and Cooperman’s presence strengthens investors’ optimism that a turnaround is possible.

Disclosure: none

Recommended Reading:

Why is John Burbank Buying the 'Craigslist of China'?

Hedge Fund News: Ken Griffin's Retail Moves, Marc Faber & Darren Read

Paul Singer Reveals a Massive Activist Stake in Riverbed Technology

Alan Fournier‘s hedge fund, Pennant Capital Management, reported in a new filing boosting its exposure at BioScrip Inc (NASDAQ:BIOS) to some 5.74 million shares, from 1.64 million disclosed in its latest 13F. The stake is passive by nature and amasses 8.44% of BioScrip’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

In a flurry of filings, John W. Rogers‘ Ariel Investments has just reported four more moves made into Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:DVD), Edgewater Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:EDGW), Stanley Furniture Co. (NASDAQ:STLY), and Versar Inc. (NYSEMKT:VSR).

In Dover, Ariel disclosed holding 3.22 million shares, up from 2.0 million mentioned in an earlier filing. The increased position represents 17.5% of Dover’s common stock.

In a second filing, Ariel reported raising its position in Edgewater to some 1.75 million shares, equal to 16.1% of the company’s common stock. In its latest 13F, Ariel’s holding involved almost 1.26 million shares of the company.

Also, Ariel disclosed holding around 2.10 million shares of Stanley Furniture, which represents a new position in its equity portfolio. The new stake amasses 14.5% of the company.

In Versar, Ariel reported picking up its stake to almost 1.61 million shares, compared to 1.26 million held before.

Disclosure: none

Carlo Cannell‘s hedge fund, Cannell Capital, has disclosed that it holds some 5.54 million shares of ValueVision Media Inc (NASDAQ:VVTV), part of which “may be deemed to be indirectly beneficially owned” by Clinton Group and George E. Hall.

Cannell also disclosed holding a total of 982,300 shares in form of derivative securities.

Earlier this week, Clinton disclosed forming an activist group with Carlo Cannell at ValueVision. The group sent a letter to the company’s CEO demanding a special meeting of shareholders.

Disclosure: none

In a new 13G filing just reported to the SEC, John W. Rogers‘ Ariel Investments has disclosed a 10.9% stake in Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPIX). Shares are up slightly on the news, but due to the passive nature of the filing, don’t expect Rogers to push for any meaningful changes at Cumberland. Rather, he’s on the ride for the appreciation potential.

Disclosure: none

Recommended Reading:

First Eagle Unloads Some Alliant Techsystems

Ariel Investments Ups Position in American Electric Technologies to 11.8%

Why Ricky Sandler Gave The Men's Wearhouse a Lesson in M&A 101

First Eagle Investment Management, in a newly amended filing, reported ownership of 3.18 million shares of Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE:ATK), which represent 9.92% of the company’s common stock. The position is passive in nature and has been decreased from 5.26 million shares reported in First Eagle’s latest 13F.

Disclosure: none

Recommended Reading:

Ariel Investments Ups Position in American Electric Technologies to 11.8%

Why Ricky Sandler Gave The Men's Wearhouse a Lesson in M&A 101

Anthony Bozza, Lakewood Capital Edge Up Exposure in Triple-S Management Corp.

John W. Rogers‘ fund, Ariel Investments, raised its position in American Electric Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AETI), now holding 944,165 shares. The stake went up from 678,268 shares Ariel included in its latest 13F filing. The upgraded passive stake amasses 11.8% of American Electric’s common stock.

Disclosure: none

Recommended Reading:

Why Ricky Sandler Gave The Men's Wearhouse a Lesson in M&A 101

Anthony Bozza, Lakewood Capital Edge Up Exposure in Triple-S Management Corp.

Sprott Maintains 4.5% Stake in Kimber Resources

Ricky Sandler's Eminence Capital revealed yesterday, Nov. 7^th, that it holds a 9.8% stake in The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW), one of the largest specialty retailers of menswear in the U.S. and Canada. The fund’s holdings are worth roughly $214 million.

Mr. Sandler has been known for taking activist positions in the past, and this case was no exception:

His fund sent a letter to the The Men’s Wearhouse Board of Directors, expressing its disappointment with their answer to Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc (NASDAQ:JOSB)'s proposal of acquiring the company’s outstanding shares for $48 each. The company stated the reason for the rejection: "the Proposal significantly undervalued the Issuer [The Men's Wearhouse] and failed to reflect its growth strategy and upside potential."

However, according to Sandler, a higher bid could arrive any time soon, explaining to the company, "we know from historical M&A practice that acquirers rarely put forth their best price in their first offer.”

We doubt The Men’s Wearhouse needs a lesson in M&A 101, but it’s clear that Sandler and Eminence have a point. Since its inception in 1998, Eminence Capital has achieved close to a 13% net annual compounded return.

From a broader standpoint, 23 of the hedge funds that we track hold positions at The Men’s Wearhouse. The largest stockholders in terms of value are: David Gallo's Valinor Management Llc, Glenn J. Krevlin's Glenhill Advisors, Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group and Chuck Royce‘s Royce & Associates.

In addition to declaring ownership of The Men’s Wearhouse stock, Eminent Capital has had some other recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For instance, over the last few months, the company acquired shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI), Sonic Automotive Inc (NYSE:SAH), Aeropostale Inc (NYSE:ARO) and VCA Antech Inc (NASDAQ:WOOF).

Shares of The Men’s Wearhouse currently trade near $46, so even in the cheapest M&A scenario that’s been proposed, there’s upside of $2/share here. It’s likely Eminence foresees an acquisition offer north of at least $50 (the highest Wall Street PT is above this mark), which explains why the fund is so bullish on the merger-arb opportunity.

Disclosure: none

Anthony Bozza‘s Lakewood Capital just disclosed, in a new filing, slightly increasing its passive stake in Triple-S Management Corp. (NYSE:GTS) to around 1.33 million shares. In its latest 13F, Lakewood mentioned holding slightly above 1.13 million shares of the company. The new position amasses 5.3% of Triple-S’s common stock.

Disclosure: none