Guru Mason Hawkins of Southeastern Asset Management increased the firm’s holdings of seven companies in the most recent quarter. Hawkins has been the Chairman and CEO of Southeastern Asset Management since 1975, and he and his partners manage the Longleaf Partners Fund.

In the first quarter of 2013, Hawkins added to seven, reduced eight and sold out of eight stocks. In Mason Hawkins’ Longleaf Funds Q1 2013 letter he said, “Our conservatism combined with the strong market positions and the financial strength of our companies also should help protect values in the event of an unexpected economic setback. Our cash positions will allow us to exploit short-term market or company-specific dislocations. Longer term, we believe our absolute return goal of inflation plus 10% remains achievable.”  Continue Reading »

In the first quarter of 2013, Guru Mason Hawkins, chairman and CEO of Southeastern Asset Management, reduced his position with eight companies, three of them in the building materials sector. Here’s a review of his reductions as of March 31, 2013:

[b]Reduced: Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) – Building Materials  Continue Reading »

Demonstrating once again that emotion can never get in the way of investing decisions, Guru Mason Hawkins of Southeastern Asset Management determined in the first quarter of 2013 that, as the Mickey Mouse Club once sang, “Now it’s time to say goodbye.” Hawkins let go of Mickey Mouse and other timeless icons of entertainment when he sold out his long-held stake in Walt Disney Co., as well as seven more companies.

Here’s a review of the southern gentleman activist’s sells as of March 31, 2013:  Continue Reading »

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According to the GuruFocus Real Time Picks, Mason Hawkins of Southeastern Asset Management, reduced his Service Corporation International Inc. (SCI) shares by 43.81% in the average price range of $16.83, as of May 10, 2013. Hawkins now owns 13,813,222 shares or 6.5% of the company. The stock price is $16.95 with a change from average up 1%. This trade impacts his portfolio by 0.82%. Service Corporation International is the largest provider of funeral, cemetery and deathcare products and services in North America.

A look at the trading history from second quarter of 2008 to fourth quarter 2012 shows a consistent high-gain path. Hawkins made his highest gain of 331.3% on this holding in the first quarter of 2009.  Continue Reading »

We are pleased with our strong start to 2013. All four Longleaf Funds outpaced our absolute annual return goal of inflation plus 10% in the first quarter. Both the Partners and Small-Cap Funds posted double-digit performance. The Partners and International Funds also outperformed their respective indices over the last three months.

Stock prices increased faster than values over the last three months. As price-to-value ratios (P/Vs) and portfolio weights rose, we trimmed a number of holdings. We sold several companies that approached our appraisals. Cash levels increased as few new qualifiers met our requisite discount. Not surprisingly, with an S&P return double that of EAFE, we are finding more opportunities in companies based outside the U.S.  Continue Reading »

In his trade on March 11, 2013, Mason Hawkins, chairman of Southeastern Asset Management, reduced his Madison Square Gardens Company (MSG) position by 40.36%, bringing his current shares to 2.6 million. The current price for MSG is $55.95 with a 0% change from average. The Mason Hawkins’ holding history of MSG shows that he began unloading MSG in the second quarter of 2012 as the quarterly average price was going up. See MSG’s 10-year valuations here.

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On March 6, 2013, Mason Hawkins, chairman of Southeastern Asset Management, reduced his shares of Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) by 21.96%, with his current shares now at 4,362,121. The current price of MLM is $104.7, with a change from average of 3%. Since December 2011 Martin Marietta Materials has attempted to buy out Vulcan Materials Company (VMC), first making a hostile takeover bid of $4.8 billion for VMC at $36.69 per share, followed by an unsolicited offer of $5.5 billion in May 2012 at $42 per share. According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Vulcan Materials got an injunction blocking Martin Marietta Materials from pursuing a hostile takeover. The Vulcan position was that the MLM offer undervalued the company and was too optimistic about the possible merger benefits. Time will tell if MLM will offer a higher price in a friendly takeover.

Meanwhile, it looks like many investor Gurus are unloading aggregates and basic materials companies MLM and VMC for now. Gurus Ray Dalio and John Griffin sold out their MLM shares in December 2012, and Steven Cohen reduced his MLM by 96.44%. In the last quarter of 2012, investor Gurus Bruce Kovner, Jim Simons and Tom Russo sold out their stakes in VMC. Currently, Steven Cohen has only 8,744 shares of his VMC stake after his reductions in third quarter 2012. Here’s an in-depth analysis of Vulcan Materials Company.  Continue Reading »

Shareholder opposition grows as computer maker Dell Inc. (DELL) defends its planned leveraged buyout at $24.4 billion. In his latest trade on March 5, 2013, major DELL stakeholder Mason Hawkins, Chairman of Southeastern Asset Management, reduced his DELL shares by -0.13% at the average price of $13.5 that day, as reported in the latest 13D filings by Mason Hawkins. Hawkins now owns 146,612,358 shares, about 8.4% of the company. The stock price has changed by 0%. See Dell’s 10-year here.

Coinciding with the reduction, Southeastern Asset Management repeated its earlier charge that DELL had placed management's interests above those of shareholders. The company criticized Dell for allegedly refusing to comment on the proposed buyout or provide investors with the results of certain segments from last year.  Continue Reading »

We are pleased to report that each of the Longleaf Partners Funds' 2012 returns exceeded our annual goal of inflation plus 10% and outperformed its relevant benchmark index. We also posted strong fourth quarter gains in all three Funds. Our business appraisals, combined with the quality of our companies and our management teams, anchor our investment decisions and provide the foundation for our confidence that market prices will reflect corporate worth over time. At the outset of 2012, we highlighted the investment cases and free cash flow yields of the Funds' largest holdings, noting that we were "highly confident future returns should be exceptionally rewarding because of the quality of the businesses we own, their prospects over the next five years, and the compellingly low prices we are paying for them." Over the year, intrinsic values built, and the gap between prices and values started to close.

Most holdings posted solid 2012 returns. The largest contributors were among our most disdained in 2011. In particular, our cement and aggregates companies illustrated why conservative business appraisals, not short-term price movements, should dictate investment decisions, as these stocks sharply rebounded without improvement in global GDP growth or overall industry volumes. In the third quarter of 2011, when macro fears about global growth and sovereign debt caused stocks to tumble, cement companies were among the worst performers as the timing of a construction rebound grew more uncertain. We did not know when infrastructure, housing, and commercial building investment would turn, but we felt confident that over five years, our companies' unit sales and pricing would improve. We could adopt a longer time horizon because we had a meaningful margin of safety in the discount placed on cement plants and rock quarries – they sold for far below replacement cost and recent comparable sales. Had we waited for more certainty about recovery and less recession fear, we would have missed the 66-90% gains in our core cement holdings and 30+% appreciation in our aggregates companies over the last year as prices moved to more fully reflect asset values.  Continue Reading »

The future of the Dell (DELL) deal is looking dimmer as its largest outside investor Southeastern Asset Management buys more shares while openly opposing the deal. Southeastern Asset Management bought almost 17 million shares in the past weeks. It now owns 146.8 million shares, which is about 8.5% of the company. Southeastern Asset Management has openly opposed the Dell deal, which is led by Michael Dell and plans to buyout other shareholders at $13.5 a share. Southeastern Asset Management said that the deal “grossly undervalued the company,” and believes that Dell is worth $24 a share, according to Barron’s.

Southeastern Asset Management has been a long-term holder of Dell, and started buying the stock when it was trading at above $30. Its average cost is estimated to be above $25. If the deal went through at $13.5, Southeastern would have lost almost 50% of its original investment, excluding dividends.  Continue Reading »

Mason Hawkins of Southeastern Asset Management, which has a sizable position in Dell (DELL), has joined several other fund managers in a chorus of contention about the proposed takeover of the company by CEO Michael Dell and private equity firm Silverlake. This letter was filed with the SEC on Feb. 8:  Continue Reading »

We are pleased to report that each of the Longleaf Fund's 2012 return exceeded our annual goal of inflation plus 10% and outperformed its relevant benchmark index. We also posted strong fourth quarter gains in all three Funds. Our business appraisals, combined with the quality of our companies and our management teams, anchor our investment decisions and provide the foundation for our confidence that market prices will reflect corporate worth over time. At the outset of 2012, we highlighted the investment cases and free cash flow yields at the Funds' largest holdings, noting that we were "highly confident future returns should be exceptionally rewarding because of the quality of the businesses we own, their prospects over the next five years, and the compellingly low prices we are paying for them." Over the year, intrinsic values built, and the gap between prices and values started to close.

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The tree-growing, timber-selling wood products manufacturer, Potlatch Corp. (PCH) will now see less of Southeastern Asset Management, the adviser to Longleaf Partners Funds.

The investment team, led by CEO Mason Hawkins, has reported selling more than 1.4 million shares, or 51.59 percent of its stake in Potlatch, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks.  Continue Reading »

Earlier this month, mutual fund company Southeastern Asset Management, where investing Guru Mason Hawkins serves as CEO and chairman, has reported three transactions. Apart from declaring itself the largest shareholder of Saks Inc., it also sold some of its shares in two stocks: Liberty Interactive Corp. (LINTA) and Vulcan Materials Company (VMX).

Southeastern Asset Management, which is the adviser to Longleaf Partners Funds, decreased in Vulcan by 18.47 percent on Dec. 5, and then reduced in Liberty Interactive by 43.41 percent five days later, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks.  Continue Reading »

As of Nov. 27, Mason Hawkins of Tennessee-based Southeastern Asset Management, which is the adviser to Longleaf Partners Funds, has reported a 10 percent decrease in his stake of franchising company DineEquity Inc. (DIN), according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks.

Reducing more than 310,000 of his shares at an average price of $62, this is Hawkins’ fourth stake reduction of DineEquity since acquiring the stock in the third quarter of 2008. Starting off with about 3.2 million shares in the beginning of his holding history, Hawkins now has a shareholding of 2,798,762.  Continue Reading »

Chesapeake (CHK) gained 2% in the quarter and rose39% from its low point in May. The substantial governance changes we discussed in last quarter’s report not only lifted the stock, but also improved the prospects for more conservative capital allocation going forward. The company announced $6.9 billion in asset sales during the quarter and anticipates approximately $2 billion more this year. In spite of the company’s progress, the stock was down 14% YTD. Although the natural gas price moved up in the quarter, it remains below the marginal cost of production for most plays. Natural gas also impacted CONSOL,which was flat in the quarter but down 10% YTD.Continued switching to cheap gas has pressured coal prices, and CONSOL owns both natural resources. The supply/demand imbalance should self-correct as natural gas drilling has declined substantially in response to low price, and demand has increased at electricity plants. Longer term demand from industrial plants, LNG exports,and conversion of trucks to this clean and abundant energy source would support an increase in natural gas prices and a higher value for both Chesapeake and CONSOL.

From Longleaf Partners' Q3 2012 Report.  Continue Reading »

Longleaf Q3 2012  Continue Reading »

Mason Hawkins has increased his stake in Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN) by 0.67 percent, according to GuruFocus Real Time Picks. The Southeastern Asset Management founder and value investor added 24,000 shares in the transaction, which raised his total position size from 3,565,758 shares to 3,589,758 shares. It also boosted his ownership stake in the company to 10.1 percent.

Hawkins purchased the shares on Oct. 10, when the share price closed at $57.48. The stock is up 32% year to date and down 2% for the past five years.  Continue Reading »

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is a pretty significant investment for well-known value investors Mohnish Pabrai and Mason Hawkins/Staley Cates at Longleaf Partners. The company has recently undergone some corporate governance improvements and major asset sales that are improving its balance sheet.

CEO Aubrey McClendon discusses (with Cramer) the changes at Chesapeake, the future of the company and the state of the energy market in North America.  Continue Reading »