Sachem Head invests where other activists tread in FedEx, Hasbro

Investment firm Sachem Head Capital Management, which settled its proxy fight with US Foods Holding Corp in May, added three new positions during the second quarter in companies where other activists had already flexed their muscle.

The firm, run by Scott Ferguson, reported owning 493,099 shares of freight transport company FedEx FDX, 1.5 million shares of cloud-based software company New Relic (NEWR.N), and 620,000 shares of toymaker Hasbro HAS on June 30, according to a regulatory filing.

Activist firm Jana Partners won two board seats at New Relic in June while FedEx added two board directors in an agreement with hedge fund DE Shaw. Hasbro in June beat back a board challenge from hedge fund Alta Fox which has pushed the company to spin off a lucrative division.

Investment managers are required to tell regulators how much stock they owned in U.S. companies at the end of each quarter in so-called 13F filings. While the filings are backward looking, other investors watch them closely for hints on trends, including suggestions of which companies activist investors might be targeting.

Sachem Head mounted a high-profile proxy fight this year against US Foods but agreed to drop the fight in exchange for three seats on the food distributor's board. US Foods had struggled to boost profit margins in line with competitors.

The firm does not push management for changes at all its portfolio companies.

Sachem Head also boosted its stake in industrial company Arconic (ARNC.N), adding 3.6 million shares to own 4 million shares at the end of the quarter.

It exited investments in Carvana POST and Post Holdings POST.