New York-based hedge fund manager Maltese Capital Management LLC invested $149.4 million in 34 new financial institution positions as of March 31, according to the firm's latest Form 13F filing.

Among Maltese's new stakes, its $13.0 million position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the largest, followed by a $9.6 million position in Synchrony Financial.

Maltese also took a $9.1 million position in Worldpay Inc., which is set to be acquired in one of the largest financial technology deals of all time by Fidelity National Information Services Inc. Maltese previously held a $5.1 million stake in Worldpay before selling it off in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Maltese also bought shares in another merger target, Wayzata, Minn.-based TCF Financial Corp. On Jan. 28, Detroit-based Chemical Financial Corp. announced that it would merge with TCF in a transaction valued at $3.55 billion.

Also during the quarter, Maltese exited 36 financial institution stakes that were worth a combined $120.7 million at the end of 2018. The firm's largest exit, a $14.4 million stake in U.S. Bancorp, was Maltese's 18th-largest position at Dec. 31, 2018.

The third-largest exit, FCB Financial Holdings Inc., was acquired by Synovus Financial Corp. on Jan. 1. Following the merger's completion, Synovus became Maltese's 19th-largest position overall at $14.5 million as of March 31.

The hedge fund manager's overall financial holdings increased by 8.1% in the first quarter to $1.22 billion as of March 31. Citigroup Inc. became Maltese's single-largest position at $32.6 million, while Zions Bancorp NA, Maltese's largest stake at year-end 2018, fell to the No. 3 spot.

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