Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional stock ownership trends. Form 13-Fs, which institutions must file to report their holdings, are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and have now come in from 1Q26. We like to review the 13Fs of major activist investors -- including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, Starboard Value and ValueAct Holdings, among others -- in order to determine their core holdings and new purchases. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Activists have made progress in the past year, with high-profile investments into blue-chip companies such as Fedex and Union Pacific. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, as well as other high-profile money managers.

Paramount Skydance Corp. is a worldwide media entertainment company. Paramount Global merged into Skydance Media on August 7, 2025. The publicly held Class B shares trade under the ticker symbol PSKY, comprise 30% of the equity of Paramount Skydance, and have no voting rights. An investor consortium led by the Ellison family and private equity firm RedBird Capital hold a 70% equity interest and 100% of the voting rights in the company. Paramount produces and distributes television and cable programming over its networks, including the flagship CBS broadcast network; a stable of basic cable channels, including MTV Networks, VH1, Nickelodeon, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, and BET; a network of owned and affiliated local CBS broadcast television stations; and two digital streaming video platforms, its flagship Paramount+ service and advertising-supported Pluto TV. Paramount also produces and distributes theatrical films through its Paramount Pictures studio and owns a minority 12.5% share in the CW network. The company's businesses and trademarks also include the Showtime cable network and CBS Television Distribution.

Paramount Skydance is a worldwide media entertainment company. Legacy Paramount merged into Skydance Media on August 7, 2025. The publicly held Class B shares trade under the ticker symbol PSKY, comprise 30% of the equity of Paramount Skydance, and have no voting rights. An investor consortium led by the Ellison family and private equity firm RedBird Capital hold a 70% equity interest and 100% of the voting rights in the company. Paramount produces and distributes television and cable programming over its networks, including the flagship CBS broadcast network; a stable of basic cable channels, including MTV Networks, VH1, Nickelodeon, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, and BET; a network of owned and affiliated local CBS broadcast television stations; and various digital streaming video platforms, including its flagship Paramount+ service and advertising-supported Pluto TV. Paramount also produces and distributes theatrical films through its Paramount Pictures studio and owns a minority 12.5% share in the CW network. The company's businesses and trademarks also include the Paramount+ streaming service, CBS television network, the Showtime cable network, CBS Television Distribution, and Paramount Pictures.

Paramount Skydance operates in three global business segments: TV media, filmed entertainment, and direct to consumer. The TV media business includes television production studios and various broadcast and cable networks, including CBS, 15 owned CBS affiliates, Paramount, Nickelodeon, MTV, BET, and VH1. Filmed entertainment consists multiple film studios, most importantly Paramount Pictures. The film studios produce and distribute movies that they license to movie theaters and other media outlets. Direct to consumer includes the Paramount+, Pluto TV, and BET+ streaming services. Much of the content on Paramount’s streaming platforms is created by the production studios housed within the firm’s other two business segments.