MS Global Franchise Fund (Trades, Portfolio) uses a meticulous system to pinpoint investment opportunities. In the third quarter, as in most quarters, that meant transactions in a wide variety of industries all around the globe.
The Fund’s most noteworthy deal was the purchase of a 446,486-share stake in Altria Group Inc. (MO, Financial), a Virginia-based tobacco company, for an average price of $53.62 per share. The acquisition had a 4.88% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
Altria Group has a market cap of $112.41 billion and an enterprise value of $121.64 billion. It has a P/E of 21.5, a forward P/E of 19.2, a P/B of 39.0 and a P/S of 6.0. GuruFocus has given Altria Group a Financial Strength rating of 8/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), David Winters (Trades, Portfolio), Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Chanos (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Donald Yacktman (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Altria Group in their portfolios.
Altria Group sold for $57.33 per share Wednesday.
The Fund also bought a 116,577-share stake in Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP, Financial), a Roseland, New Jersey-based provider of business outsourcing solutions, for an average price of $80.08 per share. The transaction had a 1.88% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
Automatic Data Processing has a market cap of $39.18 billion and an enterprise value of $37.43 billion. It has a P/E of 26.9, a forward P/E of 26.5, a P/B of 8.6 and a P/S of 3.6. GuruFocus has given Automatic Data Processing a Financial Strength rating of 8/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio) and Dodge & Cox have shares of Automatic Data Processing in their portfolios.
On Wednesday Automatic Data Processing sold for $84.95 per share.
The Fund sold its 745,722-share stake in Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE, Financial), a London-based alcoholic beverages company, for an average price of £27.67 (about $41.56 in U.S. currency) per share. The divestiture had a -4.06% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
Diageo has a market cap of $47.09 billion and an enterprise value of $57.9 billion. It has a P/E of 19.6, a forward P/E of 20.6, a P/B of 6.6 and a P/S of 4.4. GuruFocus has given Diageo a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
David Herro (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) Global Value, Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio) and Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Diageo in their portfolios.
Diageo sold for £18.52 (roughly $27.82 in American money) per share Wednesday.
The Fund sold its 32,106-share stake in LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (MC, Financial), a Paris-based luxury goods company, for an average price of €174.75 (approximately $191.11 in American dollars) per share. The deal had a -0.47% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has a market cap of $75.63 billion and an enterprise value of $83.26 billion. It has a P/E of 12.9, a forward P/E of 17.6, a P/B of 3.1 and a P/S of 2.3. GuruFocus has given LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) has shares of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in his portfolio.
On Wednesday LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton sold for €148.85 (roughly $162.79 in U.S. money) per share.
The Fund reduced its stake in Procter & Gamble Co. (PG, Financial), a Cincinnati-based consumer goods company, by more than 48%. The Fund sold 145,891 shares for an average price of $74.98 per share. The transaction had a -2.15% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
Procter & Gamble has a market cap of $211.39 billion and an enterprise value of $222.81 billion. It has a P/E of 30.3, a forward P/E of 20.8, a P/B of 3.5 and a P/S of 3.1. GuruFocus has given Procter & Gamble a Financial Strength rating of 8/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), Donald Yacktman (Trades, Portfolio), Yacktman Focused Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) and John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Procter & Gamble in their portfolios.
Procter & Gamble sold for $77.7 per share Wednesday.
The Fund reduced its stake in British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS, Financial), a London-based tobacco company, by more than 11%. The Fund sold 103,059 shares for an average price of £35.78 (about $53.92 in American dollars) per share. The deal had a -1.04% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
British American Tobacco has a market cap of $70.84 billion and an enterprise value of $83.46 billion. It has a P/E of 22.3, a forward P/E of 17.0, a P/B of 11.6 and a P/S of 5.2. GuruFocus has given British American Tobacco a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) Global Value, Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and Invesco European Growth Fund (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of British American Tobacco in their portfolios.
On Wednesday British American Tobacco sold for £37.38 (roughly $56.33 in U.S. money) per share.
The Fund added to five existing stakes in the third quarter – Japan Tobacco Inc. (TSE:2914, Financial), Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ, Financial), Walt Disney Co. (DIS, Financial), Time Warner Inc. (TWX) and Pernod Ricard SA (XPAR:RI).
The largest addition was to Japan Tobacco, a Tokyo-based cigarette company. The Fund acquired 61,000 shares, an increase of a little more than 21%, for an average price of ¥4386.77 (approximately $35.83 in American currency) per share. The transaction had a 0.38% impact on the Fund’s portfolio.
Japan Tobacco has a market cap of $8.03 trillion and an enterprise value of $8.04 trillion. It has a P/E of 41.0, a P/B of 3.3 and a P/S of 3.3. GuruFocus has given Japan Tobacco a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 2/10.
MS Global Franchise Fund (Trades, Portfolio) is Japan Tobacco’s largest shareholder among the gurus with 349,300 shares in its portfolio. T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Japan Tobacco in their portfolios.
Japan Tobacco sold for ¥4352 (about $35.54 in U.S. dollars) per share Wednesday.
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