Activist investor Carl Icahn reported a increased holdings in
Navistar International Corp. (NAV) as of Sept. 30, according to a
regulatory filing Thursday.
Mr. Icahn has increasingly influenced the commercial truck
manufacturer. In July, Navistar reached an agreement with Mr. Icahn
and Mark H. Rachesky that allows them to designate two board
nominees for election in exchange for not launching a proxy
contest, while also allowing them to increase their stakes in the
company.
Mr. Icahn reported holding 13.3 million shares in Navistar as of
Sept. 30, up 13% from the end of the previous quarter.
The investor, known for his highly public brand of shareholder
activism, has been particularly busy lately. Other than his recent
dealings with Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Netflix Inc. (NFLX), Mr. Icahn
lost a high-profile battle against Dell Inc. (DELL) going private,
but he still netted a profit in the process.
Mr. Icahn has been calling for Apple to boost its
share-repurchase plan to $150 billion. The investor, who has talked
and corresponded with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the buyback
proposal, said last month he had boosted his stake in Apple to 4.73
million shares, or about 0.5%. As of the end of the third quarter,
by comparison, Mr. Icahn had 3.9 million shares of Apple.
For Apple's part, Mr. Cook has said the company's leadership
"greatly appreciated" suggestions from shareholders, adding that
any changes to the company's cash-allocation plans wouldn't be
announced until next year. The company in October said it had
$146.8 billion in cash at the end of its fiscal fourth quarter.
Earlier this week, offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd.
(RIG) announced it had reached an agreement with Mr. Icahn, saying
it would shrink its board, propose a $3 a share dividend, and place
its rigs in a master limited partnership and take it public. In a
filing Tuesday, Mr. Icahn reported holding nearly 21.5 million
shares of Transocean.
Mr. Icahn also reported an 5.5 million-share stake in Netflix as
of Sept. 30. Last month, however, he sold more than half his stake
in the video-streaming and rental company for nearly $1 billion. At
the time, Mr. Icahn's investment firm, Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP)
said it retained 2.66 million shares in Netflix, or a stake of
about 4.5%.
Overall in the third quarter, the value of Mr. Icahn's holdings
was up 14% to $24.6 billion from the previous period, according to
the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investors who manage more than $100 million are required to
disclose most securities holdings within a month and a half of the
end of a quarter; the third-quarter deadline was Thursday. The
filings give the public a relatively fresh look at high-profile
investors' portfolios.
Mr. Icahn often reports various holdings and divestitures in
companies throughout the period between the required quarterly
filings.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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