Guru	Date	Action	Impact	Price Range (Average)*	Change from Average	Comment	Current Shares

Dan Loeb Comments on Nestlé - Oct 20, 2017

On September 26th, Nestlé (NSRGY) held an Investor Day in London. Nestlé’s new CEO, Dr. Ulf Mark Schneider had deferred questions for months about changes in strategy to this presentation, where he proposed to lay out a plan for revitalizing the company. As the first CEO in nearly a century brought to Nestlé from the outside, and as an experienced leader with a strong history of value creation at his previous company, the expectations for Dr. Schneider were high.

When we disclosed our $3.5 billion investment in the company in June, we laid out four paths to value creation at Nestlé: 1) set a specific margin target; 2) increase leverage to return more capital to shareholders; 3) reshape the portfolio; and 4) monetize the legacy stake in L’Oréal. Dr. Schneider and his team gave a strong presentation which indicated a new approach of greater investor responsiveness. We were pleased with the overall shift in tone, particularly indicated by the willingness to give a specific margin target and commit to selling assets.

The approach to balancing sales and margin development in the new world of consumer preferences and habits represented a strong shift for Nestlé. Investors should not underestimate the substantial upside in the goals they set out, assuming they can successfully execute on them. Taken together, their commitments – including reaccelerating sales growth to mid-single digits, achieving a 17.5 – 18.5% margin target, and undertaking a CHF 20 billion share buyback – imply a return to double digit EPS growth through 2020 after five years of essentially zero growth. Meeting these goals alone would create enormous value for shareholders.

Beyond this, we were also encouraged that Nestlé will consider portfolio divestments of up to 10% of sales. This should help improve the composition of the portfolio as well as provide proceeds for incremental buybacks and growth initiatives, including M&A. As we have argued, accelerating buybacks is smart, especially given the potential to purchase shares inexpensively ahead of the expected substantial inflection in earnings. Management has already purchased more than CHF 700 million of shares since the analyst day.

We recognize that with these announcements Dr. Schneider has set a new course for Nestlé. Looking ahead, we believe there is much more opportunity to unlock value, particularly by further optimizing capital allocation and carefully evaluating the L’Oréal stake as part of a comprehensive portfolio review.

From Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio)'s third quarter 2017 shareholder letter.

Check out Daniel Loeb latest stock trades

David Winters Comments on Nestle - Sep 06, 2017

During the first-half of 2017, the Fund took profits on two sets of Nestle (NSRGY) long-dated call options that the Fund purchased in 2013. At that time, Nestle was trading near CHFii 65 per share, and it seemed that the market indicated flat growth for the company. We thought otherwise, as we have been investors in Nestle’s common stock since 2007, and participated in many growth developments including, product innovations, new categories, acquisitions, emerging market growth, and management changes. We identified and executed on an intriguing value investment in late 2013 when we took advantage of an opportunity in call options. The Fund bought a set of options with a strike price of CHF 60, and another set with a strike price of CHF 68. In early June of this year, when Nestle common shares traded at approximately CHF 83 per share, the Fund sold these options as they were ’deep in the money’.

We believe that our diligence and advocacy for the Fund’s shareholders allows us to take advantage of opportunities like this. It also is an example of our knowledge of options and our discipline to sell when purchased securities arrive at full value. While the Fund sold the options, it continues to hold the common stock because of our continued long-term confidence in the historically steady performance of this global giant and its new CEO. The first major step the new CEO plans to take is the sale of their U.S. chocolate business, which will include the Butterfinger and Baby Ruth brands. We endorse the strategy of concentrating on faster growing segments in Nestle’s operations and staying ahead of changing markets, trends, and tastes.

From David Winters (Trades, Portfolio)' 2017 Wintergreen Fund Semi-Annual Report.

Check out David Winters latest stock trades