Billionaire investor William Ackman, who often says he is flattered when others follow him into a stock he likes, was joined by several prominent hedge funds that made new bets on takeover target Allergan Inc during the second quarter.Regulatory filings released on Thursday give the first comprehensive look at Allergan's redrawn shareholder map since Ackman and deal partner Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc made public their pursuit of the Botox maker in late April. And while the data, released in so-called 13-F filings, is backward looking and could have changed in the 45 days since the end of the quarter, investors say that it gives at least a strong flavor for what savvy investors are thinking.Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed a 9.7 percent stake in Allergan at the time. By the end of June, John Paulson's Paulson & Co, Jamie Dinan's York Capital Management and Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global Investors had also bought in, according to the documents released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.The filings show that several large mutual fund firms that already owned Allergan made even bigger bets during the quarter. T. Rowe Price, for example, more than doubled its position, although it did not say exactly which funds owned the shares.
Allergan, Inc. is a multi-specialty health care Company focused on developing and commercializing pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices and over-the-counter products. Shares of AGN traded higher by 0.45% or $0.7/share to $155.60. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $86.95 and as high as $174.49. On average, 2825160 shares of AGN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2482597.
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