Mario Gabelli Boosts Exposure To Two Small Industrials Companies

Tracking hedge fund transactions can provide investors with great research-backed ideas. On Thursday, Mario Gabelli and his funds filed two Schedule 13D forms, disclosing increases in his stakes in two small industrials companies.

Crane Co.

Shares of Crane Co. CR rose 0.29 percent on Thursday, after Gabelli and three funds affiliated with him (Gabelli Funds, GAMCO, MJG-IV) declared a 40 percent increase in their exposure to the stock. The funds now own an aggregate of 4,152,557 shares, which represent 7.15 percent of the company’s outstanding stock.

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Other major investment firms betting on the $3 billion market cap manufacturer of engineered industrial products include UBS, with 4,577,118 shares -- the only one with a larger stake than Gabelli, and hedge fund Gotham Asset Management, managed by Joel Greenblatt. The latter disclosed ownership of 916,012 shares of the company, worth more than $53 million, as of the end of the second quarter of the year.

Bel Fuse

The other small industrials company that felt Gabelli’s bullishness is Bel Fuse, Inc. BELFA, a $238.5 million market cap electric components designer, manufacturer and marketer.

After a 77 percent boost in his wage, Gabelli (and Gabelli Funds and GAMCO) disclosed beneficial ownership of an aggregate of 501,468 shares of Class A Common Stock, representing 23.06 percent of the shares outstanding. This stake makes Gabelli the largest institutional investor in the company.

Also confident on Bel Fuse are FMR LLC, which last disclosed holding 240,000 shares, and Chuck Royce’s hedge fund, Royce & Associates, with 116,727 shares.