Checking In with All-Weather Chuck Akre - Review of Top Picks

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Jul 23, 2013
“Don't be overwhelmed by a rising market and don't be driven by the fear of missing out,” was once offered by Chuck Akre as his best investing advice. He said to “make sure you have a margin of safety” and stay prepared for a rainy day.

Chuck Akre of Akre Capital Management is CEO, chief investment officer and managing member of the mutual fund company. He’s earned his nickname for being “all-weather” in his equity strategy, using a classic value approach in selecting stocks.

In a portfolio heavily weighted with the financial sector at 45.5% and consumer cyclical at 15.1%, Akre lists 37 stocks, four of them new, with a total value of $1.76 billion, and a quarter-over-quarter turnover of 11%.

Here’s a review of the veteran value investor’s top holdings and how they are performing:

Up 47% over 12 Months

No. 1: MasterCard Incorporated (MA, Financial)

Weighting: 10.5%

Shares Owned: 341,828

Share Price: $601.08

The eighth top Guru shareholder of MA, Chuck Akre has seen massive gains on this holding he first bought in the first quarter of 2010 for a gain of 147.4%. Since that time, he has averaged a gain of 91% on 343,320 shares bought at an average price of $314.41 per share. With the current price at $601.08, he continues to gain.

His holding history:



Founded in May 2001, MasterCard Incorporated (MA) has a market cap of $73.51 billion; its shares were traded at around $601.08 with a P/E ratio of 26.20 and P/S ratio of 9.90. The dividend yield of MasterCard Incorporated stocks is 0.30%.

Historical pricing:

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Up 74% over 12 Months

No. 2: Moody's Corporation (MCO, Financial)

Weighting: 7.7%

Shares Owned: 2,538,375

Share Price: $62.21

The eleventh top Guru shareholder of MCO, Chuck Akre has seen strong gains on this holding he first bought in the first quarter of 2012 for a gain of 61.1%. Up through first quarter of 2013, he has averaged a gain of 50% on 321,321 shares bought at an average price of $41.47 per share. With the current price at $62.21, he continues to gain.



Founded in 1990, Moody's Corporation has a market cap of $13.86 billion; its shares were traded at around $62.21 with a P/E ratio of 20.00 and P/S ratio of 4.98. The dividend yield of Moody's Corporation stocks is 1.10%. Moody's Corporation has had an annual average earnings growth of 6.1% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Moody's Corporation the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.

Historical pricing:

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Up 8% over 12 Months

No. 3: American Tower Corp (AMT, Financial)

Weighting: 7.4%

Shares Owned: 1,689,673

Share Price: $74.83

Top Guru shareholder of AMT, Chuck Akre holds 0.43% of shares outstanding. He has seen a long streak of double and triple digit gains on this holding over a five-year history. His highest gain was 159.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008. Up through first quarter of 2013, he averaged a gain of 28% on 1,747,659 shares bought at an average price of $58.44 per share.



American Tower Corp. (AMT) has a market cap of $29.33 billion; its shares were traded at around $74.86 with a P/E ratio of 50.90 and P/S ratio of 10.00. The dividend yield of American Tower stocks is 1.30%. American Tower Corp. has had an annual average earnings growth of 9.1% over the past 10 years.

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Named on the Barron's “Top 100 Mutual Fund Managers” list from 2003 - 2006, Guru Chuck Akre was one of only two small cap growth managers to make the list four years in a row.

Here is the complete portfolio of Chuck Akre.





1. Chuck Akre's Undervalued Stocks

2. Chuck Akre's Top Growth Companies

3. Chuck Akre's High Yield stocks

4. Stocks that Chuck Akre keeps buying

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