Billionaire Activist Carl Icahn’s Top Moves in Q4 Include Apple, AIG, Xerox & More

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG) was one of the worst performers in Icahn’s equity portfolio last year. The investor initiated a stake during the second quarter, while the stock lost over 50% in the last nine months of 2015. However, during the fourth quarter, amid a 23% drop in the stock, Icahn acquired 4.13 million shares of Cheniere Energy to lift his holding to 32.68 million shares worth $1.22 billion as of the end of December. After amassing a substantial position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG), Icahn obtained two Board seats and in December the investor pushed the Board to fire Cheniere’s Chairman and CEO Charif Souki, who co-founded Cheniere in 1996. Even though the stock has lost a lot of ground in the last couple of years, Cheniere represents a good long-term bet due to its seven LNG processing plants that are currently under construction and will provide the company with substantial cash flows under the contracts it has with several big companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A). Another shareholder of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG) is Seth Klarman‘s Baupost Group, which increased its position by 3.42 million shares to 26.09 million shares during the fourth quarter.

In Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX), Icahn reported a new stake containing 86.44 million shares worth $918.82 million. Icahn first disclosed a 7.1% position in Xerox in November and said at the time that the stock was undervalued. At the end of January, Xerox announced that it will separate into two companies, involved in Business Process Outsourcing and Document Technology. In addition, Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX) reached an agreement with Icahn, under the terms of which, the activist will appoint three nominees to the Board of the Business Process Outsourcing company, which will include the services segment of Xerox Corp (NYSE:XRX). Another shareholder of Xerox is Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, which owns 12.97 million shares of the company as of the end of December.

Finally, in Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ), Icahn surged his position by 22% during the fourth quarter, declaring ownership of 63.71 million shares valued at $906.58 million in his 13F filing. Last year, the stock lost 43% and is down by more than 40% year-to-date, despite the involvement of activist investors who managed to replace the CEO in 2014. Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ) is one of the largest car rental companies in the world and one of the largest equipment rental companies in the U.S and Canada. Due to the industry consolidation witnessed a couple of years ago, the car rental industry was narrowed to a small number of rental companies, which allows Hertz to focus on its profitability rather than spending to increase market share. The decline of the stock might lead to more pressure from Icahn, although the investor has not disclosed any plans regarding the company. At the same time it’s important to mention that another activist that was involved in Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ), Barry Rosenstein, decided to dump the investment, with JANA Partners having unloaded its entire stake of 39.19 million shares during the fourth quarter.

Disclosure: None