"Tracking William Von Mueffling’s Cantillon Capital Management Portfolio – Q4 2017 Update"
"William Von Mueffling's U.S. long portfolio value decreased marginally this quarter from $8.60B to $8.44B.All positions saw trimming this quarter.The portfolio continues to be very concentrated with the top five positions accounting for close to one-third of the US long portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to William Von Mueffling’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Mueffling’s regulatory  filed on 02/12/2018. Please visit our  to get an idea of his investment philosophy and our  highlighting the fund’s moves during Q3 2017.This quarter, Mueffling’s US long portfolio value decreased marginally from $8.60B to $8.44B. The number of holdings remained steady at 30. The portfolio continues to be heavily concentrated with the top five positions representing ~31% of the total US long holdings. The largest stake is Alphabet Inc. which accounts for 7.76% of the US long portfolio. The largest five positions are Alphabet Inc., S&P Global, Analog Devices, Fidelity National Information Services, and Willis Towers Watson.New Stakes:None.Stake Disposals:None.Stake Decreases:Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL): GOOG is Mueffling’s largest position at 7.76% of portfolio. The original stake was established in 2010 and doubled in 2011 at much lower prices. The last significant buying happened in Q2 2014 when the position was increased by ~14% at prices between $510 and $580. Last five quarters have seen a combined ~25% reduction at prices between $750 and $1100. The stock currently trades at $1052. Mueffling is harvesting huge long-term gains.S&P Global (SPGI) previously McGraw Hill Financial: The top-three 6.48% SPGI stake was established in Q1 2015 at prices between $86 and $109. Q3 2015 saw a huge ~140% increase at prices between $85 and $107 and that was followed with another ~75% increase next quarter at prices between $87 and $100. There was a further ~20% stake increase in Q1 2016 at prices between $81 and $100. The stock currently trades at ~$180. Last six quarters have seen a combined ~17% reduction.Analog Devices (ADI): ADI is a long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since 2010. At the time, it accounted for just over 10% of the portfolio. The position was increased by two-thirds in 2011 as well. The last major activity was in Q4 2014 when the stake saw a ~20% increase at prices between $43 and $58. The stock currently trades at $85.05. It is Mueffling’s third-largest position at 6.13% of the portfolio. There was a ~14% trimming over the last three quarters.Fidelity National Information Services (FIS): FIS was a minutely small position in Q1 2013. The following quarter saw the stake increased to a large ~6% position at prices between $39 and $46. Q3 2013 saw a 15% increase at prices between $43 and $48 and the following quarter saw another 44% increase at prices between $49 and $57. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at $95.15. Last five quarters have seen a 36% reduction at prices between $74 and $97. It is still Mueffling’s fourth-largest position at 5.31% of the US long portfolio.Willis Towers Watson plc (WLTW): The large (top five) 5.31% stake came about as a result of the merger between Willis Group Holdings and Towers Watson that closed on January 6, 2016. It was structured as a merger-split-rename transaction and the resultant entity was named Willis Towers Watson plc.  Cantillon’s large stake in Willis Group Holdings was converted to WLTW shares. There was a ~12% increase in Q3 2016 at prices between $120 and $133. The original position is from Q3 2013 and his overall cost-basis is ~$110 compared to the current price of ~$154. There was a ~13% trimming over the last three quarters.Baidu Inc. (BIDU): BIDU is a 4.77% portfolio stake first purchased in 2012. The original position was increased by over 30% in Q1 2013 at prices between $84 and $113 and another 30% in the following quarter at prices between $83 and $103. The stock currently trades at $222. Last five quarters saw a combined ~17% selling. Mueffling is harvesting gains.Intercontinental Exchange (ICE): ICE is a large 4.36% of the portfolio stake established in Q4 2014 at prices between $39 and $45. The following two quarters saw the position almost doubled at prices between $44 and $48. There was another ~17% increase in Q4 2016 at prices between $52.50 and $60. The stock currently trades at $68.60. Last four quarters saw minor trimming.Note: Prices are adjusted for the 5-for-1 stock-split in October 2016.Zoetis Inc. (ZTS): The 4.27% ZTS stake was established during Q4 2015 and Q1 2016 at prices between $39 and $48. It currently trades at $73.19.  Last seven quarters saw a combined ~18% reduction at prices between $45 and $72.Ecolab Inc. (ECL): ECL is a 4.12% of the portfolio stake first purchased in 2012. The original position was increased by around 75% in Q1 2013 at prices between $72.50 and $80. Q4 2014 & Q1 2015 saw a combined one-third increase at prices between $99 and $117. Since then, the activity has been very minor. The stock currently trades at $130. Last three quarters saw a combined ~13% trimming.American Tower (AMT): AMT is a 4.11% position established in Q1 2016 at prices between $84 and $102 and increased by ~50% the following quarter at prices between $103 and $113. There was another ~150% increase in Q4 2016 at prices between $101 and $117. The stock currently trades at $136. Last four quarters saw minor selling.Visa Inc. (V): V is a 4.10% stake established in Q4 2015 at prices between $70 and $80. It was increased by ~125% in 2016 at prices between $70 and $83. Q1 2017 saw another ~15% stake increase at prices between $78 and $90. The stock is now well above those ranges at $118. There was a ~15% selling over the last three quarters.ServiceMaster Global Holdings (SERV): The medium-sized 3.75% SERV position was purchased in Q1 2016 at prices between $35 and $42.50 and increased by ~55% over the next three quarters at prices between $32.50 and $41.50. It currently trades at $51.45. Last four quarters saw minor trimming.Note 1: Cantillon controls ~4.6% of ServiceMaster Global Holdings.Note 2: ServiceMaster was taken private in 2007 in a private equity transaction. In June 2014, it had an IPO at $17 per share. The stock has tripled since.CME Group (CME): CME is a 3.72% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q4 2014 at prices between $78 and $93. Q4 2015 saw a ~60% stake increase at prices between $87 and $100. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at ~$160. Last two years have seen a combined ~15% trimming.Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO): AVGO is a 3.63% of the portfolio stake established in Q1 2017 at prices between $174 and $227 and increased by ~55% last quarter at prices between $230 and $257. The stock currently trades at $244. There was minor trimming this quarter.CBRE Group Inc. (CBG): The 3.63% stake in CBG was purchased in Q1 2016 at prices between $23 and $34.50 and increased by ~125% over the next two quarters at prices between $24.50 and $31. The stock is now at $43.15. There was minor trimming in the last five quarters.Note: Jeffrey Ubben’s ValueAct has a ~8.5% ownership stake in CBRE Group.Agilent Inc. (A): Agilent is a medium-sized 3.61% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2015 at prices between $33.50 and $42.50. Q4 2016 also saw a ~17% increase at prices between $43 and $48. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at $68.43. There was minor selling in the last four quarters.Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (ST): ST is a ~3% of the US long portfolio position established in Q2 2014 at prices between $44 and $50. The first three quarters of 2015 saw the stake more than doubled at prices between $49 and $59. The stock currently trades at $51.99. Last four quarters have seen minor trimming.Beckton Dickinson (BDX): BDX is a ~3% of the portfolio stake established in Q4 2016 at prices between $163 and $180 and increased by ~30% the following quarter at prices between $165 and $185. The stock is now at $219. There was a ~13% trimming over the last three quarters.Equifax (EFX): EFX is a 2.73% of the portfolio stake purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $112 and $135. H1 2017 saw a ~80% stake increase at prices between $117 and $143 and that was followed with a ~130% increase last quarter at prices between $93 and $146. The stock is now at $114. There was a ~6% trimming this quarter.Allergan plc (AGN): AGN is a 2% of the portfolio stake established in Q2 2016 at prices between $202 and $278 and increased by one-third in Q3 2016 at prices between $231 and $260. The last three quarters had seen a ~16% stake increase at prices between $203 and $256.  The stock is now well below those ranges at $162. There was minor selling this quarter.Bitauto Holding (BITA): BITA is a small 1.59% position first purchased in Q3 2014 at prices between $48 and $93. Q1 2015 saw a ~60% stake increase at prices between $47.50 and $89. That was followed with another one-third increase in Q3 2015 at prices between $25 and $50. 2016 also saw a ~75% stake increase at prices between $17 and $31. The stock is now at $28.73. Last two quarters had seen another one-third increase at prices between $23.50 and $47.50. There was a ~6% reduction this quarter.Note: Cantillon controls ~4.8% of Bitauto.Interactive Brokers Group Inc. (IBKR): IBKR is a small 1.43% of the portfolio stake established in Q2 2017 at prices between $34 and $38 and increased by ~11% last quarter. The stock is now at $63.68. There was minor selling this quarter.Verisign Inc. (VRSN) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): These two positions were established last quarter. VRSN is a 1.69% of the portfolio position purchased at prices between $93 and $106 and the stock is now above that range at $111. The 1.25% TSM stake was established at prices between $34.50 and $38.50 and it is now at $42.53. Both positions saw minor trimming this quarter.Aon plc (AON), TriNet Group Inc. (TNET), Cimpress (CMPR), Credit Acceptance Corporation (CACC), Primerica Inc. (PRI), and SS&C Technologies (SSNC): These small stakes (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) saw minor reductions this quarter.Note: Cantillon controls ~6.5% of TriNet Group and ~5% of Cimpress.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Mueffling’s US stock holdings in Q4 2017:"