Icahn Capital Adds Conduent (CNDT) to Its 13F Portfolio; Plus Billionaire Activist’s Other Top Q1 Moves

Let’s start with Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL), in which Icahn Capital trimmed its position by 5% to 31.57 million shares that were worth $1.36 billion at the end of March. The fund sold around 1.82 million shares between January and March as the stock gained 10.30%, so the move could be explained as portfolio rebalancing. Overall, shares of Paypal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) have advanced by 26% year-to-date, and are up by 25% since the stock went public after being spun-off from eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) (see our coverage of the spin-off and Icahn’s role in it). Since the IPO, PayPal has been reporting solid results with growing revenue and it is positioned for future growth and expansion. Paypal has partnered with Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), which is a bit worrying for some investors, as it might hurt its profit margins on every transaction. However, so far, the company has been reporting profits above expectations and its deals with well-known brands should help it stay ahead of the competition, which would justify lower margins. Senator Investment Group, led by Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin added Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) to its 13F portfolio during the first-quarter, buying 7.75 million shares.

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Next in line is Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), in which Icahn Capital increased its stake by around 372,300 shares to 22.87 million shares worth $1.33 billion. Icahn’s investment in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) has been watched closely, as it illustrated the feud between Icahn and activist Bill Ackman of Pershing Square. Pershing Square has a big short bet against Herbalife and has accused the company of being a pyramid scheme. So far, Ackman has been losing, as Herbalife’s stock is up by 60% over the last five years and is nearly 51% in the green year-to-date. The year-to-date increase comes as Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) reported a strong first-quarter, with revenue of $1.1 billion and EPS of $1.24, beating estimates by $50 million and $0.35 respectively. In addition, the company provided upbeat guidance for the full year, which included adjusted diluted EPS of $4.05 to $4.45. The guidance also provided a boost to stocks of other companies in the nutritional supplements industry. Nevertheless, Ackman is not buying it, having said in a recent investor call that the company’s fundamentals are worse than it’s making them look. On the other hand, Icahn seems to be fond of the company and has four seats on its board.

On the next page, we are going to take a closer look at Icahn’s investment in Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV), as well as its new portfolio addition Conduent Inc (NYSE:CNDT) and its former portfolio stalwart Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), which it sold off.