FERG - Tracking Chris Hohn's TCI Fund Management 13F Portfolio - Q3 2023 Update

2023-12-26 18:24:48 ET

Summary

• TCI Fund Management's 13F portfolio value decreased from $33.67B to $27.56B this quarter.
• The number of positions in the portfolio decreased from 10 to 9.
• The top three holdings, General Electric, Canadian National Railway, and Canadian Pacific Railway, make up approximately 48% of the portfolio.

This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to TCI Fund Management’s 13F portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on their regulatory 13F Form filed on 11/14/2023. Please visit our Tracking Chris Hohn’s TCI Fund Management 13F Portfolio article for an idea on their investment philosophy and our last update for the fund’s moves during Q2 2023.

This quarter, TCI Fund Management’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $33.67B to $27.56B. The number of positions decreased from 10 to 9. The top three holdings are at ~48% while the top five are close to ~74% of the 13F assets: General Electric, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Visa, and S&P Global.

Stake Disposals:

Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) : The ~12% MSFT stake was built in the 2017-18 timeframe at prices between ~$60 and ~$115. There was a ~50% selling in 2019 at prices between ~$100 and ~$160. Recent activity follows: Q1 2021 saw a ~45% increase at prices between ~$213 and ~$245 while in Q3 2021 there was a ~20% selling at prices between ~$275 and ~$304. Q2 2022 saw a ~14% increase at prices between ~$242 and ~$315. That was followed by a similar increase during Q4 2022. There was a ~48% reduction during the last two quarters at prices between ~$222 and ~$348. The stake was disposed this quarter at prices between $311.51 and $358.00. The stock currently trades at ~$375.

Stake Increases:

Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) : TMO is a 5.86% of the portfolio stake established during the last three quarters at prices between ~$485 and ~$605 and the stock currently trades at ~$530. There was a marginal increase this quarter.

Stake Decreases:

Visa Inc. ( V ) : The ~14% of the portfolio stake in Visa was built in 2020 at prices between ~$147 and ~$219. H2 2021 had seen a ~64% stake increase at prices between ~$196 and ~$249 while next quarter there was a ~14% reduction at prices between ~$191 and ~$235. The stock is now at ~$259. The last three quarters saw a ~18% trimming.

S&P Global Inc. ( SPGI ) : The ~12% of the portfolio SPGI stake was first purchased in 2017 and built in 2019 at prices up to ~$275. Q1 2021 saw a ~150% stake increase at prices between ~$306 and ~$362 while in H2 2021 there was a ~37% selling at prices between ~$415 and ~$475. There was a ~80% stake increase in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$373 and ~$461. That was followed with another ~30% increase next quarter at prices between ~$316 and ~$415. The stock currently trades at ~$436. There was a minor ~3% trimming this quarter.

Moody's Corp ( MCO ) : MCO is a ~12% position that has been in the portfolio since their first 13F filing in Q2 2015. At the time, the stake was already fairly large at 3.9M shares. The position has wavered. The stake was almost sold out in 2016 at prices between ~$80 and ~$110. The 2017-2018 timeframe saw the position rebuilt at prices between ~$98 and ~$185. H1 2022 had seen a ~25% stake increase at prices between ~$254 and ~$386. That was followed with a ~25% stake increase in the two quarters through Q1 2023 at prices between ~$235 and ~$330. The stock currently trades at ~$388. There were minor increases in the last two quarters.

Note: They have a ~6.5% ownership stake in the business.

Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG ) : GOOG is a 8.10% of the portfolio. It was first purchased in 2017 at prices between ~$40 and ~$55. Next year saw the stake built at prices between ~$49 and ~$62. There was a ~18% selling in Q1 2022 while Q3 2022 saw a ~10% increase. There was a ~75% reduction in the last two quarters at prices between ~$87 and ~$128. The stock currently trades at ~$143. This quarter also saw a ~9% trimming.

Kept Steady:

General Electric ( GE ) : GE is currently the largest position in the portfolio at ~17%. It was purchased during Q1 2023 at prices between ~$66 and ~$94. There was a ~60% stake increase last quarter at prices between ~$94 and ~$110. The stock currently trades well above their purchase price ranges at ~$128.

Canadian National Railway ( CNI ) : CNI is currently the second largest position at ~16% of the portfolio. It was built in the 2018-19 timeframe at prices between ~$71 and ~$95. Q2 & Q3 2021 saw a ~75% stake increase at prices between ~$104 and ~$127. The last quarter also saw a ~11% increase. The stock currently trades at ~$126.

Note: they have a ~6.3% ownership stake in the business.

Canadian Pacific ( CP ) : The ~15% CP stake was purchased during 2018-19 at prices between ~$34 and ~$51. There was a minor increase during 2020 but since then the position has been kept steady. The stock currently trades at $79.46.

Note: they have a ~6% ownership stake in the business.

Ferguson plc ( FERG ) : FERG is a very small 0.29% of the portfolio position established last quarter.

The spreadsheet below highlights changes to TCI Fund Management’s 13F holdings in Q3 2023:

Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from TCI Fund Management’s 13F filings for Q2 2023 and Q3 2023.

For further details see: