In his last full quarter as chairman, Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) bought 12 new stocks for the $24.4 billion T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (PRFDX, Financial), he disclosed today.
After 30 years, Rogers will hand over the reins to his successor, John Linehan, on Nov. 1. Rogers has delivered a 10.43% return for clients since the fund’s inception in 1985. The fund, which focuses on common stocks of established companies that pay above-average dividends, is a “conservative, value oriented” vehicle for investors to both dividend income and long-term growth. Managers also buy stocks that are considered out of favor or undervalued to buffer against volatility.
In his second quarter letter, Rogers accurately predicted greater market volatility driven by investor reactions to the possibility of higher interest rates and monetary tightening.
“We expect moderate equity returns in the second half of the year,” Rogers said in his second quarter commentary. “We anticipate modest economic and earnings growth, but stock valuations are less reasonable than they have been.”
Rogers’ stock picks for the quarter also increased the fund’s exposure to its most-weighted sector, Financial Services, to its highest level in more than five years, at 21.8% of the portfolio from 20.8% in the second quarter.
The largest new positions Rogers purchased for the fund in the third quarter were: State Street Corp. (STT, Financial), Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. (CPGX, Financial), PG&E Corp. (PCG, Financial), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT, Financial) and WestRock Co. (WRK, Financial).
State Street Corp. (STT, Financial)
Rogers bought 2.665 million shares of State Street Corp., a 0.8% portfolio weight. The company’s quarterly stock price averaged $74 per share.
State Street Corp. is a financial holding company, organized in 1969 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. State Street Corp. has a market cap of $27.96 billion; its shares were traded at around $68.51 with a P/E ratio of 16.24 and P/S ratio of 2.76. The dividend yield of State Street Corp. stocks is 1.86%. State Street Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 2.1% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated State Street Corp. the business predictability rank of 2-star.
Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. (CPGX, Financial)
Rogers bought 8.533 million shares, a 0.7% portfolio weighting. The company’s quarterly average share price was $26 per share.
Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. has a market cap of $6.77 billion; its shares were traded at around $21.3 with and P/S ratio of 5.14. The dividend yield of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. stocks is 0.59%.
Rogers bought 2,780,100 shares of PG&E Corp., a 0.65% portfolio weight. The stock’s quarterly stock price averaged $51 per share.
PG&E Corp. was incorporated in California in 1995. PG&E Corp. has a market cap of $26.05 billion; its shares were traded at around $54.05 with a P/E ratio of 18.82 and P/S ratio of 1.49. The dividend yield of PG&E Corp. stocks is 3.37%.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT, Financial)
Rogers bought 1.925 million shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a 0.56% portfolio weight. The stock’s quarterly price averaged $69 per share.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is a Delaware corporation was incorporated in October 1969. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has a market cap of $190.21 billion; its shares were traded at around $59.33 with a P/E ratio of 12.35 and P/S ratio of 0.4. The dividend yield of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. stocks is 3.28%. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 8.6% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Wal-mart Stores Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
Rogers bought 2,279,088 shares of WestRock, a 0.52% portfolio weight. The stock’s quarterly price averaged $60 per share.
WestRock Co. provides paper and packaging solutions in consumer and corrugated markets. Westrock Co. has a market cap of $14.67 billion; its shares were traded at around $56.01 with a P/E ratio of 14.68 and P/S ratio of 0.79. The dividend yield of Westrock Co. stocks is 1.91%. Westrock Co. had an annual average earnings growth of 19.9% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Westrock Co. the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.
You can see more of Rogers’ stock picks at his portfolio here. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days.
