Scout Capital Slightly Reduces DineEquity Stake

Adam Weiss and James Crichton's hedge fund firm Scout Capital have filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding shares of DineEquity (DIN). Per the filing, Scout has reported a 5.4% ownership stake in DIN with 1,034,762 shares.

This marks a small reduction of 6.5% in the number of shares they own since the end of the first quarter.    This latest filing was required due to portfolio activity on July 30th, but they were selling shares throughout the month of July.  They sold at prices ranging from $65.6473 up to $71.9411.

Previously, we highlighted how Scout went activist on DineEquity back in May of this year.  Another activist hedge fund, Mick McGuire's Marcato Capital, had also been involved but sold around 38% of their position at the end of June.

Per Google Finance, DineEquity "owns franchise and operate two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, (Applebee's), in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and International House of Pancakes (IHOP), in the family dining category of the restaurant industry." 

We've also posted other portfolio activity from Scout Capital here.

Mick McGuire's Hedge Fund Trims DineEquity Stake

Mick McGuire's hedge fund firm Marcato Capital Management just filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its position in DineEquity (DIN).  Per the filing, Marcato has revealed a 0.3% ownership stake in DIN with 66,916 shares.

This marks a decrease of 38% in their common stock position size as they've sold over 40,000 shares since the end of the first quarter.  As of June 22nd, Marcato ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of shares, which triggered the filing.  The hedge fund also had numerous stock option transactions which you can view here.

Mick McGuire is an activist investor and will be presenting his latest investment ideas at the upcoming Value Investing Congress.  Our readers can receive a discount to the event by clicking here and using discount code: N13MF2  

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Per Google Finance, DineEquity "owns, operates and franchises two restaurant concepts in the casual dining and family dining categories of the restaurant industry: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar and International House of Pancakes (IHOP). The Company operates in four segments: franchise operations, company restaurant operations, rental operations and financing operations."

Scout Capital Goes Activist on DineEquity, Raises Stake

Adam Weiss and James Crichton's hedge fund Scout Capital filed a 13D on shares of DineEquity (DIN) yesterday after market close.  Per the filing, Scout has revealed a 6.6% ownership stake in with 1,280,321 shares.

This means they've boosted their position size by 134,631 shares since the end of 2012, or around a 12% increase.  They filed the 13D due to activity on May 3rd. 


Activist Stake in DineEquity

In the fine print of the filing, we see that Scout's purpose of transaction is listed as follows:

"The Reporting Persons have engaged and expect to continue to engage in discussions with senior management of the Issuer with respect to the Issuer’s optimal capital structure, debt refinancing, timing and magnitude of share repurchases, management compensation metrics and merger and acquisition strategies, among other matters."

Late last year, we flagged how Mick McGuire's activist fund Marcato Capital Management also filed a 13D on DineEquity.

Per Google Finance, DineEquity "owns franchise and operate two restaurant concepts: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, (Applebee's), in the bar and grill segment of the casual dining category of the restaurant industry, and International House of Pancakes (IHOP), in the family dining category of the restaurant industry."

For additional moves from this hedge fund, head to recent portfolio activity from Scout Capital.

Marcato Capital Management Files 13D on DineEquity

Mick McGuire's hedge fund Marcato Capital Management just filed a 13D with the SEC regarding DineEquity (DIN).  Per the filing, they've revealed a 5.5% ownership stake in DIN with 1,021,486 shares.

This is not a new position for the fund as they owned 771,486 shares at the end of the third quarter.  As such, the amount of shares they own has increased by 32% over the past 2 months.  The majority of their purchases were made in late November at $62.52.

Marcato Capital Management initially disclosed its stake in DineEquity in the fourth quarter of 2011.  This latest 13D filing was required due to portfolio activity on November 27th.

Prior to founding his firm, McGuire worked at Bill Ackman's Pershing Square and so it should come as no surprise that he too is often involved in shareholder activism.  The 13D notes that McGuire has engaged DIN management and hopes to pursue discussions.

Per Google Finance, DineEquity "owns, operates and franchises two restaurant concepts in the casual dining and family dining categories of the restaurant industry: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar and International House of Pancakes (IHOP). The Company operates in four segments: franchise operations, company restaurant operations, rental operations and financing operations."

For more on this hedge fund, we posted up notes from McGuire's presentation at an investor conference where he talked about some of his other longs.