Ariel Investments, an investment management firm, published its "Ariel Focus Fund" third-quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Ariel Focus Fund returned -4.71% in the third quarter, trailing the Russell 1000 Value Index which lost -0.78%, and the S&P 500 Index which gained +0.58%. Year-to-date, Ariel Focus Fund has earned +15.44% compared to +16.14% for the Russell 1000 Value Index and +15.92% for the S&P 500. You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

Ariel Focus Fund, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) and discussed its stance on the firm. ViacomCBS Inc. is a New York, New York-based mass media company with a $19.3 billion market capitalization. VIAC delivered a -20.18% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -17.85%. The stock closed at $29.74 per share on December 17, 2021.

Here is what Ariel Focus Fund has to say about ViacomCBS Inc.  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

"Leading entertainment company, ViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC) was the top contributor to relative performance over the trailing one-year period. Shares continued to benefit from solid earnings results and continued investor enthusiasm surrounding the launch of Paramount+ and other international streaming video on demand services. As the price of ViacomCBS Inc. substantially increased during the period, management announced an equity offering and a mandatory convertible preferred stock offering to further support investment in its streaming services. Shares began to tumble on the news, as an overleveraged family office, Archegos Capital Management, became a forced seller of the company. As prices moved closer to our assessment of intrinsic value, we reduced our position size in the company, insulating our portfolios from the largest weekly decline in the stock’s history and maintaining its status as a top contributor."

Based on our calculations, ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. VIAC was in 64 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 71 funds in the previous quarter. ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC) delivered a -26.18% return in the past 3 months.

You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.