Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp (FDML): Billionaire Carl Icahn Buys More Shares and Other Consumer Discretionary Picks

Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:FDML) is one of the Consumer Discretionary stocks that Mr. Icahn holds in his equity portfolio, alongside Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) and Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI). However, the Consumer Discretionary sector amasses one of the smallest parts of the billionaire’s equity portfolio, which primarily consists of Industrials, Technology, and Energy stocks. Nevertheless, the Consumer Discretionary sector has one of the highest gains since the beginning of the year, advancing by more than 4% and has one of the highest Price-to-Earnings ratios for the trailing twelve months at around 16.50, according to Bloomberg data.

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Mr. Icahn’s second-largest holding from the Consumer Discretionary sector has been among the top gainers for the last month, jumping by more than 39%. The stock is still down by 22% over the last year and the future looks uncertain for the company since it has been surrounded by a lot of controversy lately, as another great activist Bill Ackman of Pershing Square has been aggressively campaigning against the company and claiming that it is a pyramid scheme which will either collapse or be shut down. Nevertheless, Mr. Icahn holds 17.0 million shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), the stake being unchanged over the last year. The position was valued at $743.75 million at the end of 2014 and was the 10th largest in Mr. Icahn’s equity portfolio. Another shareholder with a significant stake in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is George Soros’ Soros Fund Management, which owns 3.45 million shares as of the end of 2014.

In Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Mr. Icahn holds 14.97 million shares, valued at $477.91 million as of the end of last year. The billionaire’s stake in the $8.30 billion publishing company is a relatively new one, being initiated during the second quarter of 2014, and was consequently increased from 2.73 million shares held initially. Mr. Icahn went activist on Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) with the intention to push for a spin-off of the company’s print business, but Gannett beat him to it. Moreover, at the beginning of March, Mr. Icahn and Gannett reached an agreement, under the terms of which the investor withdrew his proxy proposals and nominees to the board in exchange for Gannett changing the corporate governance profile of the spun-off company. The investor is the largest shareholder of the company among the funds that we track, followed by John W. Rogers’ Ariel Investments, which holds 5.95 million shares, according to its latest 13F filing.

Disclosure: None