Elliott takes massive Salesforce stake: Hedge funds and C-suites weekly

© Reuters.

By Davit Kirakosyan

Investing.com -- Salesforce shares climbed on news that activist hedge fund Elliott Management bought a stake in the company. And here is your full weekly roundup of the biggest news out of hedge funds and company top brass, all first covered on InvestingPro.

Elliott Management takes a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce

The news of Elliott's new Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) stake follows the company's recent 10% workforce reduction plan announced on January 4, part of a restructuring effort to lower operating costs and improve margins. The plan also involves reducing office space in selected markets.

Salesforce announced Friday the appointment of 3 new board directors, including ValueAct Capital CEO Mason Morfit, amidst pressure from activist investors for better cost control and a management shakeup. The company named Morfit, Mastercard CFO Sachin Mehra, and former Carnival CEO Arnold Donald to its board.

Shares gained more than 8% for the week.

Dollar Tree appoints former Dollar General head as its next CEO

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) announced a change in leadership with CEO Mike Witynski stepping down after 13 years with the company. Rick Dreiling, former CEO of arch-rival Dollar General (NYSE:DG), and current Dollar Tree executive chairman, will take over as the new head of the company.

The move follows a board revamp agreement with activist stakeholders Mantle Ridge a year ago, who had called for a review of Dollar Tree's business strategy.

Kohl's on the brink of naming Tom Kingsbury as permanent CEO: report

Kohl's Corp (NYSE:KSS) is in late-stage talks to appoint Tom Kingsbury as permanent CEO, per sources cited by The New York Times. Kingsbury was named interim CEO in December after Michelle Gass departed for Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI). The appointment comes as Kohl's faces declining sales and increased pressure from activist investors.

Kohl's shares rose more than 2% this week.

Hasbro cuts 15% of the workforce, fires the COO

Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) shares dropped more than 8% on Friday after the company reported poor Q4 preliminary results, announced a 15% workforce cut as part of a cost-saving plan, and fired the COO.

In October 2022, the company announced a goal to deliver $250 million - $300 million in annualized cost savings by year-end 2025. As part of this initiative, the company is eliminating approximately 1,000 positions globally. The job cuts are expected to start in the next several weeks. Additionally, Eric Nyman, the President and COO, is departing Hasbro.

Hasbro released preliminary Q4 results, noting poor performance in the Consumer Products business amid a difficult holiday market, despite strong growth in Wizards of the Coast, Digital Gaming, Hasbro Pulse, and licensing.

Shares closed the week with a 7% loss.

Splunk appoints new CFO

Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) appointed Brian Roberts as the new CFO to replace the previous CFO, Jason Child, who stepped down in September. Roberts previously served as CFO for Ozone Networks and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), and held senior roles at Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Evercore (NYSE:EVR).

Shares gained more than 5% this week.

Key NextEra Energy executive retires

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) announced that Eric Silagy, CEO of NextEra unit Florida Power & Light, will retire after 20 years, including 11 years as FPL CEO. Armando Pimentel, former senior executive at NextEra, will return as FPL's President and CEO. John Ketchum, NextEra's chairman, president and CEO, will become FPL's Chairman.

The news, as well as the company’s Q4 revenue miss, sent the shares down more than 8% on Wednesday.

Shares closed the week with a 7% loss.

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