By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON, (Reuters) – Investors that push companies to improve their performance made bigger and better bets during the third-quarter amid strong growth signs early in the year.

Jana Partners is an activist investor firm that bought Macy’s shares (NYSE:) according to a recent regulatory filing. They are urging Macy’s retailer to get rid of its e-commerce company.

Sachem Head Capital Management increased its stake in U.S. Foods Holding to 67%, or 11.4 Million shares. Mantle Ridge purchased 12.7M shares of discount retailer Discount Retailer. Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:) The company filed last week and stated that management should take action to increase the share price.

Engine no. 1, the sustainability-focused firm that forced ExxonMobil (NYSE:) to add three newcomers to its board this year, raised its holdings in car makers Tesla (NASDAQ:) by 78% and General Motors (NYSE:) by 20%, according to filings made on Monday.

These stocks were often called “consumer discretionary stocks” by the firms. This was because shoppers had been ready to use stimulus checks to ensure that the worst of this pandemic would be over.

Recent concerns have been expressed by investors that inflation may be a problem. Inflation has been rising in certain areas. The largest annual increase in consumer prices in over three decades was caused by rising fuel costs and rising food costs.

The filing revealed that managers such as Scott Ferguson, Sachem Head, saw an opportunity to increase their holdings of Uber (NYSE:), by 230% to 5.1 Million shares.

Maverick Capital also increased its share of Uber by 10% to 2 million shares. PointState Capital had 3.9 million Uber shares. That’s an increase of 453%.

According to filings, Cinctive Capital Management raised its stake in General Motors with 323,284 shares.

The 45-day reporting deadline for money managers is to disclose their stakes in U.S. companies within the quarter. Although the data can be backward looking, it will still be closely monitored for trends in investment.

Although many of the consumer-cyclical stocks did well last year, some activists investors are hoping to make even more by pushing management for dramatic change.

Macy’s had to shutter its stores in the face of COVID-19. Jana’s Scott Ostfeld, Macy’s’s CEO, stated that the management at Macy’s could turn the store into a digital minefield.

U.S. Foods CEO Sachem Head may not have outlined the specific changes they want to see. However, the company has already begun to look for new chief operating officers and chief financial officers to shake up the executive ranks.