The activist investor Jeffrey Smith founded Starboard Value LP in 2002, seeking to invest in deeply undervalued companies and actively engage with management teams to identify and execute on opportunities to unlock value for the benefit of all shareholders. Smith is known for his corporate takeovers, and pushed for Office Depot or ODP Corp (NASDAQ: ODP) to acquire Office Max, after accumulating a 15% stake and controlling three board seats.
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Smith also holds a sizable stake in Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK), at just under 5%, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Starboard's founder will appear at an activist-investing conference on Oct. 18 and will likely detail the fund's thesis.
Here are two dividend stocks that Smith is holding, as Starboard Value has a 4.3% stake in Huntsman Corporation and an 8.1% stake in Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WTW).
Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) is offering a dividend yield of 3.24% or 85 cents per share annually, making quarterly payments, with a track record of increasing its dividends once in the past year. Huntsman is a U.S.-based manufacturer of differentiated organic chemical products, operating more than 70 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in roughly 30 countries. The company's products are used in adhesives, aerospace, automotive, and construction products.
Huntsman repurchased approximately 8.4 million shares for approximately $291 million in the second quarter of 2022, accounting for $501 million in buybacks in the first half of 2022.
In the second quarter of 2022, Huntsman saw adjusted EBITDA of $432 million compared to adjusted EBITDA of $334 million in the prior year period, and its revenues were at $2.4 billion compared to $2.0 billion in the prior year period.
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Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Co. (NASDAQ: WTW) is offering a dividend yield of 1.58% or $3.28 per share annually, utilizing quarterly payments, with a decent track record of increasing its dividends for two consecutive years.
Willis Towers Watson is a global advisory, insurance brokerage, and solutions company providing data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Through leveraging the global views and local expertise of their colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, the firm helps others improve their strategies and maximizes performance.
During the second quarter, Willis Towers Watson repurchased 2.1 million shares for $471 million, and 12 million shares for $2.7 billion for the six months that ended June 30, 2022.
"We continued to build momentum and execute on our strategic priorities in the second quarter, delivering results that were in line with our expectations," said Carl Hess, Willis Towers Watson CEO.
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