Billionaire Nelson Peltz Bets Big on Industrial, Consumer Staples

#2 SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

– Shares Owned by Trian Partners (as of March 31): 43.27 Million

– Value of Holding (as of March 31): $2.02 Billion

After Trian inched up its SYSCO stake by 1% in the March quarter the holding amassed about 7.66% of the North American distributor of food and related products’ outstanding shares. SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY)’s shares have rallied by a hefty 20.2% so far this year. The rise was perhaps also the reason that motivated Donald Yacktman‘s Yacktman Asset Management to remove some profits off the table as it cut its SYSCO holding by 16% to 17.36 million shares during the first quarter.  During the third fiscal quarter, ended March 26, SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) managed to expand its gross margins for the fourth consecutive quarter to 17.8%. Margins were declining for nine straight quarters before the recent improvement.

#1 General Electric Company (NYSE:GE)

– Shares Owned by Trian Partners (as of March 31): 74.25 Million

– Value of Holding (as of March 31): $2.36 Billion

Trian trimmed its General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) holding by 4%. The stake represents 22.73% of the fund’s portfolio and is a major chunk of the 30% amassed by the industrials sector in Trian’s 13F. As part of the company’s strategy to reinvent itself by moving away from the financial services industry and delving deeper into the industrials sector, General Electric recently announced a $250 million purchase of Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) business from Korean giant Doosan Engineering & Construction (DEC). Another fund bullish on General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is Harris Associates as it holds more than 45.83 million shares of the company.

Disclosure: None