The Hedge Funds With The Biggest Stakes In Gun Manufacturers

Friday's tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut has renewed the debate on gun control in the U.S. and Obama has even pledged to use the power of his office to stop gun violence. 

Shares of publicly traded gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. have been under pressure.

Smith & Wesson's stock fell 0.47 cents or 5.2% to close at $8.65 a share yesterday.  Shares were last trading down more than 3.6% in the pre-market.

Meanwhile, shares of Sturm, Ruger & Co. fell $1.57 or 3.45% to close at $44 a share yesterday.  The stock was last trading down 2% in the pre-market.

We decided to see which hedge funds have the largest stakes in these publicly traded gun manufacturers. 
Here's a rundown of six hedge funds with the biggest stake in Smith & Wesson, according to 13F data compiled by Bloomberg. (Note: This data is from 13Fs filed with the SEC for the third quarter ended 9/30/2012.)

• Renaissance Technologies held 3,395,000 shares or a 5.12% stake, the data shows. RenTech added 1,210,600 shares in the third quarter ended 9/30/2012. 
• Route One Investment Company held 1,242,000  shares or 1.87% stake for the quarter ended 9/30. Route One added 1,242,000 shares during the third quarter. 
• Steelhead Partners LLC owned 1,282,7000 shares or a 1.85% stake. Steelhead sold 450,000 shares during Q3.
• Columbia Partners had 801,691 shares or a 1.21% stake in Q3. Columbia Partners revealed a new stake of 801,691 shares during the third quarter ended 9/30.
• Bogle Investment Management held 656,288 shares or a 0.99% stake in the third quarter. Bogle Investment Management sold 1,027 shares in Q3, the data shows.
• Millennium Management had 618,881 shares or a 0.93% stake for the quarter ended 9/30.  Millennium added 470,007 shares during the third quarter. 

Now here's a rundown of the six hedge funds with the largest stake in Sturm, Ruger & Co., according to 13F data compiled by Bloomberg for the third quarter ended 9/30/2012.

• James Investment Research Inc. held 904,360 shares or a 4.27% stake in Q3. James Investment Research sold 2,323 in the third quarter, the data shows. 
• Renaissance Technologies owned 850,900 shares or a 4.44% stake in the third quarter.  The hedge fund sold 181,600 shares in Q3, the data shows. 
• Tiger Global Management disclosed a new position of 800,000 shares, or a 4.18% stake, in the third quarter ended 9/30, the data shows.
• South Point Capital Advisors had 665,963 shares or a 3.48% stake in Q3, according to 13F data.  The hedge fund sold 70,100 shares in the third quarter. 
• Valinor Management LLC held 223,620 shares or a 1.17% stake in Q3.  Valinor sold 56,040 shares in Q3, the data shows.
• Route One Investment Company disclosed a new position of 167,000 shares or a 0.87% stake during the third quarter ended 9/30.

Again, this data is only for the third quarter.  These hedge funds could have done a number of things with their positions.