NWQ Managers Reduces Stakes in Microsoft, MetLife and Teva Pharmaceutical

Company cuts 3 stakes by more than 43%

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Dec 23, 2015
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NWQ Managers (Trades, Portfolio) reduced several of its stakes in the third quarter, some by more than 43%.

It is a value-oriented money management firm with several funds products and more than $54 billion under management. The firm does bottom-up research on companies and industries focusing on qualitative factors such as restructuring, management strength, shareholder orientation and the ability to capitalize on improving industry fundamentals.

The following are the stakes that the firm reduced in the third quarter. NWQ Managers (Trades, Portfolio) reduced its stakes in Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financial), MetLife Inc. (MET, Financial) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA, Financial) by 10.91%, 15.33% and 19.29%, and it decreased its stakes in CA Inc. (CA, Financial), Express Inc. (EXPR, Financial) and Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY, Financial) by more than 43%.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

The firm initiated a position in this company at $48.7 per share in Q2 2011; in the last five quarters the firm has been reducing its stake. This quarter the firm reduced it by 19.29%, the deal had an impact of -0.46% on the portfolio, and the stock price went up 1%. Currently it is trading at $65.73.

The company has a $56.16 billion market cap and $67.05 billion enterprise value and manufactures generic pharmaceutical products.

Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes more than 91%, and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake by 52.52%. James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio) and Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. are other funds that reduced their holdings.

Phillips 66Â (PSX)

Phillips makes up 1.01% of the portfolio. The firm bought the shares at around $66.71 in Q4 2013. In the last two quarters the firm reduced its stake. In the third quarter the firm reduced its stake by 30.65% at $79.47 per share; the price went up 3%. Currently it is trading at $81.70.

The company has a $43.01 billion market cap and a $47.97 billion enterprise value, and its segment includes Refining and Marketing (R&M), Midstream, Chemicals businesses & Marketing and Specialties.

First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes more than 30%. James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) and Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio) also reduced their stakes.

Astronics Corp. (ATRO)

The firm initiated a position in this company at $15.11 per share in Q1 2013. In the last two quarters the firm trimmed its stake, and, in the third quarter, it reduced its stake by 53.42%. The deal had an impact of -0.34% on the portfolio, and the stock price dropped 16%. Currently it is trading at $41.35.

Astronics has a $1.07 billion market cap and $1.26 billion enterprise value. It designs and builds its products through its wholly owned subsidiaries. Its products include advanced, high-performance lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation and distribution systems, aircraft structures, avionics products and other products for the aerospace industry as well as test, training and simulation systems primarily for the military.

Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his holding by 13.04%.

CA Inc.

The stock makes up 0.4% of the portfolio and has had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010. The firm has been reducing and increasing its stake but never exited its position. In the third quarter it reduced its stake by 43.49% at $28.61 per share. Currently it is trading at $28.10.

The company has a $12.33 billion market cap and a $11.53 billion enterprise value. It is a provider of enterprise information technology (IT) software and solutions. It develops and delivers software and services that help organizations manage and secure their IT infrastructures and deliver more flexible IT services.

James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio) and John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their holdings over 70%. Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) and Private Capital (Trades, Portfolio) also reduced their stakes.

Express Inc.

The firm initiated a position in this company at $17.54 per share in Q1 2014. In the third quarter the firm reduced it by 55.13% at an average price of $18.79; the deal had an impact of -0.24% on the portfolio, and the stock price dropped 5%. Currently it is trading at $17.77.

The company has a $1.43 billion market cap and $1.34 billion enterprise value. It is a specialty apparel and accessory retailer offering both women's and men's merchandise.

Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake over 89% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) by 32.21%.

MetLife Inc.

The stock makes up 2.48% of the portfolio. It has had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010, and in the last 12 quarters the firm has been reducing its stake but never exited its position. This quarter the firm reduced its stake by 15.33% at $52.42 per share; the price dropped 10%. Currently it is trading at $47.21.

The company has a $530.9 billion market cap and a $463.37 billion enterprise value. It is a provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs throughout the U.S., Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Ken Heebner (Trades, Portfolio) and Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes more than 66%. The position saw minor decreases by Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio) and John Keeley (Trades, Portfolio).

Albany International Corp. (AIN)

It has had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010, and the firm has been increasing and reducing its stake but never exited its position. In the third quarter the firm reduced it by 24.01% at an average price of $33.89; the deal had an impact of -0.22% on the portfolio, and the stock price went up 9%. Currently it is trading at $37.

The company has a $1.18 billion market cap and $1.28 billion enterprise value. The company and its subsidiaries are engaged in two business segments: The Machine Clothing (MC) segment and The Engineered Composites segment (AEC).

In the third quarter the stock was traded by only three other gurus. Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) acquired a new position. Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) increased their stakes.

Laclede Group Inc. (LG)

The stock makes up 0.79% of the portfolio. The firm bought the shares in Q2 2014 and has been increasing and reducing its stake. In the third quarter it reduced its stake by 22.65% at an average price of $53.2 per share; the price went up 10%. Currently it is trading at $58.71.

The company has a $2.51 billion market cap and a $4.69 billion enterprise value. It is a public utility holding company formed through a corporate restructuring that became effective Oct. 1, 2001. The company has two business segments: Gas Utility and Gas Marketing.

The stock was traded by two other gurus in the third quarter. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) acquired a new position, and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake by 193.84%.

Avery Dennison Corp.

The firm initiated a position in this company at $47.09 per share in Q4 2013; in the last three quarters it has been reducing its stake. In the third quarter the firm reduced it by 46.77% at an average price of $60.39. The deal had an impact of -0.19% on the portfolio, and the stock price went up 4%. Currently it is trading at $63.07.

The company has a $5.73 billion market cap and $6.53 billion enterprise value. Its businesses include the production of pressure-sensitive materials, office products and a variety of tickets, tags, labels and other converted products. Its reporting segments are: Pressure-sensitive Materials, Retail Information Services and Retail Branding and Information Solutions.

Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) and Mariko Gordon (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes by 77.66% and 9.54%.

Microsoft Corp.

The stock makes up 2.48% of the portfolio. It has had a long-term position in the portfolio since 2010, and the firm has been increasing and reducing its stake but never closed its position. In the third quarter the firm reduced its holding by 10.91% at $44.9 per share; the price went up 23%. Currently it is trading at $55.35.

The company has a $437.98 billion market cap and a $377.19 billion enterprise value. It generates revenue by developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting software products and services for different types of computing devices.

Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his stake by 15.90% while Dodge & Cox, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher, Donald Yacktman (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio), Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) and MS Global Franchise Fund (Trades, Portfolio) reduced their stakes below 10%.