Today let's look at investing giant Carl Icahn, who has made billions, partly by taking large positions in companies and pushing for change in them. These companies have included Texaco, RJR Nabisco, and Imclone. He's also drawn to companies in or near bankruptcy, wanting to make them more valuable in order to sell them at a higher price.
Icahn Capital Management's stock portfolio totaled $9.8 billion in value as of March 31, 2012, with just 17 holdings. Its top three holdings, Icahn Enterprises L.P., Federal-Mogul, and Motorola Mobility, make up 65% of the overall portfolio's value.
Interesting developments
So what does Icahn Capital Management's latest quarterly 13-F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
There are no new holdings, but Icahn more than tripled his stake in CVR Energy
Icahn also boosted his holdings of online health information portal WebMD Health
Icahn shrunk his stake in Commercial Metals
Finally, Icahn unloaded two companies, selling out of El Paso
Another interesting detail is not in the filing. Some believe that with special permission from the SEC to not disclose this activity while it's ongoing, Icahn is building up a big position in troubled Chesapeake Energy
We should never blindly copy any investor's moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
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