40 North Management, the investment firm managed by David S. Winter and David J. Millstone, disclosed on November 20, a reduction in its exposure to Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM), one of its favorite stocks –consistently- since the second quarter of 2013. Following the sale of 19,060 shares of Common Stock, the firm owns 2.68 million shares of the company, which account for roughly 7.87% of its total shares outstanding, and are worth more than $185 million at current stock price of $69.00 per share.
David S. Winter and David J. Millstone are co-CEOs and co-CIOs at 40 North Management, a New York-based privately-held, diversified investment firm that invests across the public and private markets, including real estate through Winter Properties. It last disclosed, by the end of the third quarter of the year, an equity portfolio worth more than $1.8 billion, which is focused on healthcare (32.4%), finance (19.1%) and consumer discretionary (15.7%) stocks.
Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM) is a $2.36 billion market cap specialty retailer of mattresses and related products and accessories in the United States. As of the end of January of 2014, the company and its franchisees operated 1,225 and 136 stores, respectively, primarily under the Mattress Firm name, in 89 markets across 35 states.
The company’s stock is up more than 60% year-to-date. On November 17, it reached an all-time high price $71.82 per share. On the following days, 40 North Management decided to make a profit from this situation and sold 19,060 shares. On November 18, the firm disposed of 12,800 shares for a price of $70.02 per share, and on the following day, it sold another 6,260 shares, for $69.18 each.
But not only 40 North Management is benefiting from this stock price upsurge. At least four important insiders at Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM), the CEO, the co-COO, the Senior Corporate Advisor, and the Executive Vice President, have all sold some of their stock over the past month. In fact, on the day that the stock hit its lifetime high, Karrie Forbes, Executive Vice President, sold almost half a billion dollars in stock (7,000 shares, worth $490,000 that day).
Also making money out of Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM) is Sharlyn C. Heslam’s Stockbridge Partners, which sold 730,673 shares over the third quarter, but still owns 2.05 million shares of the company.
But, why trail 40 North Management’s moves? Well, since it first started a position in Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM), over the first quarter of 2013, the stock has almost doubled in price, beating the S&P 500 Index, which surged about 31.5%.
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any stocks or funds mentioned
