Activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC put its sights on office real estate investment trust Equity Commonwealth during the first quarter, buying more than 3 million shares to make it the largest holding, valued at $60 million as of March 31, according to the investor's most recent Form 13F filing.
Initiations , position increases
On March 13, Land & Buildings issued a news release pressing Equity Commonwealth to liquidate its four remaining properties and return its cash on hand to shareholders. Additionally, in the release Land & Buildings expressed its opinion that the REIT's board has allowed excessive general and administrative costs, totaling $37 million in 2023.
Land & Buildings also purchased more than 1.1 million shares in single-family rental REIT Invitation Homes Inc. The stake was valued at approximately $39.4 million at quarter-end, making it the firm's second-largest holding by market value.
The investment firm also purchased a roughly $22.2 million stake in American Healthcare REIT Inc. during the quarter. American Healthcare REIT was formed out of the merger of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III and Griffin-American Healthcare REIT IV and began trading on the NYSE on Feb. 7.
Another new position in Land & Buildings' portfolio was casino and gaming company Las Vegas Sands Corp., with the firm's new stake valued at $21.5 million as of March 31.
Other new stakes in the investment firm's portfolio included regional mall REIT Macerich Co. valued at $16.7 million, industrial REIT First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. valued at $11.9 million, and Aimco valued at $1.1 million.
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In addition to the newly added positions, Land & Buildings significantly increased its share count in real estate services company CBRE Group Inc., bringing it to the firm's seventh-largest stake, valued at $29.5 million at quarter-end.
Land & Buildings upped its stake in datacenter REIT Equinix Inc. by 55.2% to 45,991 shares, making it the firm's fourth-largest holding by market value, at $38.0 million.
Other share count increases in holdings included outlet center REIT Tanger Inc., multifamily REIT Apartment Income REIT Corp. and real estate technology company SmartRent Inc.
Exits, position decreases
Land & Buildings exited its stake in five holdings during the first quarter.
The largest exit for the quarter was Canada-headquartered Tricon Residential Inc. After quarter-end May 1, subsidiaries of Blackstone Inc. completed their acquisition of Tricon Residential. Tricon had been Land & Building's largest holding at the end of the prior quarter, valued at $52.8 million.
Land & Buildings sold its stake in communications REIT SBA Communications Corp., the firm's fifth-largest holding the quarter prior, valued at $38.4 million.
Other exits during the quarter included single-tenant retail REIT Agree Realty Corp., hospitality company Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and single-family rental REIT American Homes 4 Rent.
Land & Buildings trimmed its share count in six other holdings during the first quarter, the largest drop being in casino REIT VICI Properties Inc., in which the firm sold 41.9% of its stake.
Land & Buildings sold 30.4% of its stake in industrial REIT Prologis Inc. and 23.5% of its share count in healthcare REIT Ventas Inc.
Other positions with lowered share count included manufactured home REIT Sun Communities Inc., healthcare REIT National Health Investors Inc. and hotel REIT Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc.
Holdings by sector
By property sector, Land & Buildings held the largest exposure to residential REITs at $113.8 million in aggregate.
The firm's holdings in healthcare REITs followed next, totaling $78.7 million.
