"Tracking Al Gore's Generation Investment Management Portfolio – Q4 2017 Update"
"Generation Investment Management’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $10.41B to $10.32B this quarter.They increased Henry Schein & Dentsply Sirona while reducing Facebook & Alphabet.The top three positions are Henry Schein, Cerner, and Acuity Brands and they add up to ~21% of the entire portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Generation Investment Management’s 13F portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Al Gore’s regulatory  filed on 02/14/2018. Please visit our  Portfolio series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves in Q3 2017.This quarter, Al Gore’s 13F portfolio value decreased marginally from $10.41B to $10.32B. The number of positions remained steady at 34. The largest five stakes are Henry Schein, Cerner Corporation, Acuity Brands, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Dentsply Sirona and they together account for about one-third of the total portfolio value.Generation Investment Management’s  and Al Gore’s  are good precursors for anyone interested in investing based on sustainability analysis.New Stakes:Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Delphi Technologies (DLPH), and Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI): These are the new positions this quarter. ADP is a small 1.61% portfolio stake purchased this quarter at prices between $109 and $119 and the stock currently trades at $118. The very small 0.61% DLPH position came about as a result of the spinoff from Delphi Automotive (now Aptiva plc) in November. Terms called for shareholders to receive one share of Delphi Technologies for every three shares of Delphi Automotive held. Generation IM held ~3.6M shares of Delphi Automotive for which they received ~1.2M shares of Delphi Technologies. MELI is a very small 0.51% stake established this quarter at prices between $222 and $329 and it is now well above that range at $387.Stake Disposals:VWR Corp. (VWR): The 2.55% VWR position was first purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $24.50 and $28.50. There was a ~17% increase in the following quarter at prices between $24.50 and $28.50. In May 2017, Avantor agreed to buy VWR for $33.25 cash and the transaction closed in November. Generation IM had controlled 6.1% of the business.PayPal Holdings (PYPL): The ~2% PYPL stake was purchased in Q2 2017 at prices between $42.50 and $54.50 and reduced by ~27% last quarter at prices between $53 and $65. The disposal this quarter was at prices between $64 and $79. The stock currently trades at $79.69.National Instruments Corp. (NATI): The very small 1.23% NATI position was eliminated this quarter.Stake Increases:Henry Schein (HSIC): The small HSIC stake saw a ~550% increase to a ~7.5% portfolio (largest 13F position) stake this quarter at prices between $66.50 and $84.50. Last quarter had also seen a ~30% increase at prices between $79 and $93. The stock is now at $68.05. For investors attempting to follow Generation IM, HSIC is a good option to consider for further research.Note: HSIC stock split 2-for-1 last September. Generation IM has a 7% ownership stake in Henry Schein.Acuity Brands (AYI): AYI is a top three 6.42% of the portfolio stake purchased in Q1 2017 at prices between $199 and $240 and increased by ~85% the following quarter at prices between $163 and $204. The stock is now at $147. There was a ~12% increase this quarter at prices between $156 and $178.Note: Generation IM controls 8.9% of AYI.Dentsply Sirona (XRAY): XRAY is a large (top five) 5.75% portfolio stake built in 2014 at prices between $44 and $56. 2015 saw a ~10% stake increase while last year saw a similar reduction. There was a ~20% selling in Q1 2017 at prices between $55.50 and $64.50. Last quarter saw an about turn: ~43% increase at prices between $52.50 and $65 and that was followed with a ~115% increase this quarter at prices between $55.50 and $68.50. The stock is now at $57.67.Note: Generation IM has a ~3.9% ownership stake in Dentsply Sirona.JD.com (JD): The original JD purchase in 2014 was in the low-20s. H1 2017 had seen a ~40% selling at prices between $25.50 and $43. There was an about turn last quarter: ~73% increase at prices between $38 and $48 and that was followed with a ~52% increase this quarter at prices between $36.50 and $43. The stock is now at $48.35.Sensata Technologies (ST): The bulk of the 4.21% ST position was purchased in Q2 2016 at prices between $33.50 and $39. Q2 2017 saw a two-thirds increase at prices between $39 and $43.50 and that was followed ~12% increases each in the last two quarters. The stock currently goes for $54.05.Note: Generation IM has a ~5% ownership stake in Sensata Technologies NV.Infosys Ltd. (INFY): The 2.83% INFY position saw a ~145% increase this quarter at prices between $14.50 and $16.25. The stock is now at $17.96.Credicorp Ltd. (BAP): BAP is a 2.39% of the portfolio position established in Q2 2017 at prices between $152 and $183 and increased by ~22% last quarter at prices between $179 and $213. It is now at $218. There was a ~10% increase this quarter.SPDR Trust (SPY) and Texas Instruments (TXN): These are minutely (less than ~0.5% of the portfolio each) positions that saw increases this quarter.Stake Decreases:Cerner Corporation (CERN): CERN is currently the second-largest position at 7.12% of the portfolio. The stake was established in 2015 and doubled in Q1 2016 at prices between $52 and $60. Q4 2016 also saw another ~50% stake increase at prices between $47 and $62. There was a ~37% selling this quarter at prices between $64.50 and $73.50. The stock currently trades at $64.53.Note: Generation IM has a 3.3% ownership stake in Cerner Corporation.Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL): JLL is a top-five 6.15% long-term position first purchased in 2008. By 2013, that original position was doubled to a fairly large ~5% stake thru consistent buying every year. The next two years saw selling: ~75% overall reduction at prices between $103 and $178. The pattern reversed in H1 2016: ~200% increase at prices between $96 and $141. H2 2016 also saw a ~50% stake increase at prices between $91 and $120. That was followed with a ~30% increase in Q2 2017 at prices between $103 and $125. The stock currently trades at $160. There was a marginal trimming this quarter.Note: Generation IM has a 9.4% ownership stake in Jones Lang LaSalle.Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO): TMO is a large 5.26% portfolio position first purchased in Q3 2016 and more than doubled the following quarter at prices between $141 and $159. Q2 2017 saw another ~20% increase at prices between $152 and $176. The stock currently goes for $212. Last two quarters have seen marginal trimming.Charles Schwab (SCHW): SCHW is a ~5% portfolio position. Q2 2017 saw a two-thirds increase at prices between $37.50 and $43 and that was followed with a ~40% increase last quarter at around the same price range. The stake is from Q4 2016 at prices between $31 and $40.50. The stock is now at $52.74.Note: SCHW has seen a previous round-trip. A large ~7.2M share stake purchased in 2013 in the high-teens price-range was disposed the following year at much higher prices.Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): MSFT is a fairly large 4.78% portfolio position. The position was first purchased in 2014 and more than doubled the following year at prices between $36 and $56. The stake saw a ~50% selling in Q2 2017 at prices between $65 and $72.50 and that was followed with a ~25% reduction this quarter at prices between $74 and $87. The stock is now at $94.06. Generation IM is harvesting long-term gains.Deere & Co. (DE): DE is a fairly large 4.65% stake. The position is from 2015 at prices between $75 and $97. There was a ~40% reduction in Q1 2017 at prices between $103 and $111 and that was followed with a ~20% selling over the next two quarters at prices between $107 and $132. The stock is now at $166. This quarter saw marginal trimming.Ingersoll-Rand plc (IR): IR is a ~3% portfolio position first purchased in 2015 at prices between $51 and $71. The stake saw a ~30% reduction in 2016 at prices between $50.50 and $78.50 and that was followed with another ~50% selling during Q1 to Q3 2017 at prices between $75 and $93. The stock is now at $90.15. There was a marginal reduction this quarter.Becton Dickinson (BDX): BDX is a ~3% long-term position that has been in the portfolio since their first 13F filing in 2006. The position saw a two-thirds increase in Q2 2017 at prices between $177 and $195. This quarter saw a reversal: ~28% selling at prices between $194 and $228. The stock is now at ~$220.Aptiv plc (APTV) previously Delphi Automotive: DLPH is a 2.94% DLPH position. It was first purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $46 and $55. The following quarter saw a ~28% selling at prices between $50 and $65 while Q2 2017 saw a ~60% increase at prices between $57 and $72. The stock currently trades at $93.06. Last two quarters saw marginal trimming.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the Delphi Technologies spinoff last November.MasterCard Inc. (MA): MA is a 2.66% stake built in H1 2016 in the low-90s price-range. Q4 2016 also saw a one-third increase at prices between $100 and $107. The stock is now well above those ranges at $176. There was a ~50% selling this quarter at prices between $143 and $154.Cooper Companies (COO): The bulk of the 2.59% position in COO was purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $159 and $183 and the stock currently trades well above that range at $231. There was a marginal reduction in the last two quarters.Visa Inc. (V): Visa is a 2.19% portfolio stake purchased last quarter at prices between $93 and $106 and the stock currently trades at $123. There was a ~17% selling this quarter at prices between $105 and $114.Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG): CMG is a 2.16% stake established in Q4 2016 at prices between $360 and $438 and increased by ~53% last quarter at prices between $297 and $417. The stock currently trades at $316. There was a ~17% reduction this quarter at prices between $269 and $329.Allegion Pub (ALLE), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN), Ansys Inc. (ANSS), Facebook Inc. (FB), Nike Inc. (NKE), Salesforce.com (CRM), Taiwan Semi (TSM), and Waters Corp. (WAT): These are very small (less than ~1.5% of the portfolio each) positions that saw reductions this quarter.Kept Steady:None.Below is a spreadsheet that highlights the changes to Al Gore's Generation Investment Management US long stock portfolio as of Q4 2017:Regulatory Filings thru 8/24/2017: 13G – 11/24 – HSIC – Henry Schein – 8M Shares – 5.1% of business."