As the chairman and CEO of Fisher Investments, as well as Forbes Magazine’s long-time Portfolio Strategy columnist, Ken Fisher’s judgment in investing is associated with flexibility in strategy, unique ways to analyze information and the adventurous act of seeking facts not widely known by other investors.
Recently, he reported updates to his investment portfolio for the third quarter. In the three months, Fisher had more than 260 transactions, more than 90 of them reductions, densely selling in the financial, energy, industrial and technology sectors.
His highest reduction amounts belonged to the financial sector, where the following companies experienced the top percentages: Barclays Plc (BCS) at 99.5 percent, Blackrock Inc. (BLK) at 99.6 percent, Goldman Sachs Group (GS) at 99.01 percent and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 99.5 percent, to name a few. Fisher even reduced in exchange traded funds such as the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI) and the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index Fund (AAXJ).
Additionally, Fisher sold all of his shares of more than 50 companies, a majority experiencing an average of 10 percent price increase while some declined in price of at least 10 percent. Among these companies, WindGen Energy (WGEI) experienced the lowest change from average price at 50 percent and financial services company, CPC of America Inc. (CPCF) doesn’t trail too far back at 23 percent down from its average price.
Amidst his list of sells, Fisher also introduced about 58 stocks to his portfolio and added to his shareholding of 57 companies. (Read more about some of Fisher’s latest Q3 purchases on Ken Fisher’s Top Mega-Cap New Purchases.)
Fisher’s recent reductions are reflective of his current portfolio composition, holding a majority of his shares in the technology and financial sectors.
Several of Fisher's sell decisions in the third quarter truly highlighted his value investment strategy.
Barclays (BCS)
Fisher reduced by 99.5 percent of his stake of global financial services provider, Barclays Plc. Out of all of Fisher’s third-quarter reductions, the company experienced the most increase from its average price, at 33 percent. From more than 16 million shares in Q2, Fisher sold 15,997,785 shares, bringing him to his current holding of 80,006.
Recently, Barclays announced that it experienced higher levels of Payment Protection Insurance claims since the end of the first half of 2012, and predicts its profits before tax in the third quarter to be broadly in line with the current market consensus of £1.7 billion, according to Barclays’ website.
In September, the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, unveiled a facility made home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, offering about 18,000 seats for basketball games and up to 19,000 seats for concerts.
Barclays is currently selling at $14.93 per share, with a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E(ttm) ratio of 12.3 and a P/S ratio of 0.9.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX)
Reducing his Freeman shareholding by 99.3 percent in the third quarter, Fisher currently holds 92,671 shares compared to more than 14 million in the end of the second quarter. Its market price jumped 19 percent at the time of the transaction.
Arizona-based Freeman-McMoRan is an international mining company that produces copper, gold and molybdenum, and owns assets including a mining complex in Indonesia and operations in South America and Democratic Republic of Congo.
For the first six months of this year, Freeman reported a net income of $1.5 billion, attributable to common stock at $1.55 per share, much lower compared to the $2.9 billion of net income reported in last year’s six months, attributable to common stock at $3.00 per share.
In September, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.3125 per share, payable to its holders this November.
Freeman is currently trading at $41.50, with a market cap of $38.1 billion. Its P/E (ttm) ratio is close to its one-year high of 12.1; its P/B ratio is 1.9 and its P/S ratio is 1.8.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP)
Fisher reduced his holding of Check Point Software Technologies by 91.6 percent in the third quarter. He added the stock to his portfolio in the second quarter of this year, originally starting with more than 1.2 million shares. He now has 102,000 shares after selling about 1.11 million shares.
Check Point experienced the largest decrease from the average price compared to the rest of Fisher’s reductions in the third quarter upon the time of the transaction. In total, the change from the average price was 15 percent.
As the company that introduced FireWall-1 to the tech industry, Check Point is a company that produces software which aids in securing Internet security, including hacker-, spyware- and identity theft protection. It had a total revenue of $332.4 million in the third quarter, according to its quarter-end filings, representing an 8 percent increase compared to the prior year. Its earnings per share for the third quarter also increased, this time by 10 percent, at $0.79 per share.
Check Point currently sells at $41.25 per share which has surpassed its one year low of $44.30. It has a market cap of $9.43 billion; its P/E (ttm) ratio is 16.3, which is close to its three-year low. Similarly, both its P/B ratio (2.9) and P/S ratio (7.5) are both close to their two-year lows.
To view all of his recent transactions for Q3, visit Ken Fisher’s Portfolio.
Recently, he reported updates to his investment portfolio for the third quarter. In the three months, Fisher had more than 260 transactions, more than 90 of them reductions, densely selling in the financial, energy, industrial and technology sectors.
His highest reduction amounts belonged to the financial sector, where the following companies experienced the top percentages: Barclays Plc (BCS) at 99.5 percent, Blackrock Inc. (BLK) at 99.6 percent, Goldman Sachs Group (GS) at 99.01 percent and Morgan Stanley (MS) at 99.5 percent, to name a few. Fisher even reduced in exchange traded funds such as the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI) and the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index Fund (AAXJ).
Additionally, Fisher sold all of his shares of more than 50 companies, a majority experiencing an average of 10 percent price increase while some declined in price of at least 10 percent. Among these companies, WindGen Energy (WGEI) experienced the lowest change from average price at 50 percent and financial services company, CPC of America Inc. (CPCF) doesn’t trail too far back at 23 percent down from its average price.
Amidst his list of sells, Fisher also introduced about 58 stocks to his portfolio and added to his shareholding of 57 companies. (Read more about some of Fisher’s latest Q3 purchases on Ken Fisher’s Top Mega-Cap New Purchases.)
Fisher’s recent reductions are reflective of his current portfolio composition, holding a majority of his shares in the technology and financial sectors.
Several of Fisher's sell decisions in the third quarter truly highlighted his value investment strategy.
Barclays (BCS)
Fisher reduced by 99.5 percent of his stake of global financial services provider, Barclays Plc. Out of all of Fisher’s third-quarter reductions, the company experienced the most increase from its average price, at 33 percent. From more than 16 million shares in Q2, Fisher sold 15,997,785 shares, bringing him to his current holding of 80,006.
Recently, Barclays announced that it experienced higher levels of Payment Protection Insurance claims since the end of the first half of 2012, and predicts its profits before tax in the third quarter to be broadly in line with the current market consensus of £1.7 billion, according to Barclays’ website.
In September, the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, unveiled a facility made home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, offering about 18,000 seats for basketball games and up to 19,000 seats for concerts.
Barclays is currently selling at $14.93 per share, with a market cap of $46.57 billion, a P/E(ttm) ratio of 12.3 and a P/S ratio of 0.9.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX)
Reducing his Freeman shareholding by 99.3 percent in the third quarter, Fisher currently holds 92,671 shares compared to more than 14 million in the end of the second quarter. Its market price jumped 19 percent at the time of the transaction.
Arizona-based Freeman-McMoRan is an international mining company that produces copper, gold and molybdenum, and owns assets including a mining complex in Indonesia and operations in South America and Democratic Republic of Congo.
For the first six months of this year, Freeman reported a net income of $1.5 billion, attributable to common stock at $1.55 per share, much lower compared to the $2.9 billion of net income reported in last year’s six months, attributable to common stock at $3.00 per share.
In September, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.3125 per share, payable to its holders this November.
Freeman is currently trading at $41.50, with a market cap of $38.1 billion. Its P/E (ttm) ratio is close to its one-year high of 12.1; its P/B ratio is 1.9 and its P/S ratio is 1.8.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP)
Fisher reduced his holding of Check Point Software Technologies by 91.6 percent in the third quarter. He added the stock to his portfolio in the second quarter of this year, originally starting with more than 1.2 million shares. He now has 102,000 shares after selling about 1.11 million shares.
Check Point experienced the largest decrease from the average price compared to the rest of Fisher’s reductions in the third quarter upon the time of the transaction. In total, the change from the average price was 15 percent.
As the company that introduced FireWall-1 to the tech industry, Check Point is a company that produces software which aids in securing Internet security, including hacker-, spyware- and identity theft protection. It had a total revenue of $332.4 million in the third quarter, according to its quarter-end filings, representing an 8 percent increase compared to the prior year. Its earnings per share for the third quarter also increased, this time by 10 percent, at $0.79 per share.
Check Point currently sells at $41.25 per share which has surpassed its one year low of $44.30. It has a market cap of $9.43 billion; its P/E (ttm) ratio is 16.3, which is close to its three-year low. Similarly, both its P/B ratio (2.9) and P/S ratio (7.5) are both close to their two-year lows.
To view all of his recent transactions for Q3, visit Ken Fisher’s Portfolio.
