A guru’s quarterly acquisitions always attract attention, and GuruFocus has examined Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio)’s acquisitions in the third quarter and his top picks for 2016, but there are lessons to be learned from an investor's divestitures. In the third quarter, Black sold 13 stakes.
The most significant of Black’s third-quarter stakes sales was the divestiture of his 84,741-share stake in United Technologies Corp. (UTX, Financial), a Hartford, Connecticut-based conglomerate, for an average price of $97.82 per share. The transaction had a -1.26% on Black’s portfolio.
United Technologies has a market cap of $85.42 billion and an enterprise value of $104.14 billion. It has a P/E of 14.9, a forward P/E of 14.4, a P/B of 2.8 and a P/S of 1.3. GuruFocus has given United Technologies a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) and Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) also sold their stakes in United Technologies in the third quarter.
United Technologies sold for $96.3 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 148,889-share stake in Royal Bank of Canada (RY, Financial), Canada’s largest financial institution with offices in Toronto and Montreal, for an average price of $56.94 per share. The deal had a -1.23% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Royal Bank of Canada has a market cap of $78.77 billion and an enterprise value of $66.63 billion. It has a P/E of 11.6, a forward P/E of 10.8, a P/B of 1.9 and a P/S of 3.1. GuruFocus has given Royal Bank of Canada a Financial Strength rating of 6/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) was the only other guru who sold his stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter.
Royal Bank Of Canada sold for $54.57 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 125,243-share stake in Synnex Corp. (SNX, Financial), a Fremont, California-based information technology supply chain services company, for an average price of $77.96 per share. The divestiture had a -1.23% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Synnex has a market cap of $3.77 billion and an enterprise value of $4.19 billion. It has a P/E of 18.4, a forward P/E of 13.6, a P/B of 2.1 and a P/S of 0.3. GuruFocus has given Synnex a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) also sold his stake in Synnex in the third quarter.
Synnex, which will announce its fourth-quarter financial results after the market closes Jan. 7, 2016, sold for $95.15 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 127,750-share stake in Wesco International Inc. (WCC, Financial), a Pittsburgh-based electronics distribution and services company, for an average price of $57.87 per share. The transaction had a -1.18% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Wesco International has a market cap of $1.87 billion and an enterprise value of $3.23 billion. It has a P/E of 9.7, a forward P/E of 11.5, a P/B of 1.0 and a P/S of 0.3. GuruFocus has given Wesco International a Financial Strength rating of 6/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in Wesco International in the third quarter.
Wesco International sold for $44.33 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 202,982-share stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD, Financial), a Toronto-based banking and financial services company, for an average price of $39.82 per share. The deal had a -1.16% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Toronto-Dominion Bank has a market cap of $73.78 billion and an enterprise value of $45.38 billion. It has a P/E of 13.3, a forward P/E of 11.4, a P/B of 1.6 and a P/S of 3.3. GuruFocus has given Toronto-Dominion Bank a Financial Strength rating of 6/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
No other gurus sold their stakes in Toronto-Dominion Bank in the third quarter.
Toronto-Dominion Bank sold for $39.73 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 96,873-share stake in Sovran Self Storage Inc. (SSS, Financial), a Buffalo, New York-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that purchases and operates self-storage properties, for an average price of $92.77 per share. The transaction had a -1.13% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Sovran Self Storage has a market cap of $3.88 billion and an enterprise value of $4.74 billion. It has a P/E of 34.7, a forward P/E of 34.6, a P/B of 3.4 and a P/S of 10.5. GuruFocus has given Sovran Self Storage a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
No other gurus sold their stakes in Sovran Self Storage in the third quarter.
Sovran Self Storage sold for $107.23 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 169,640-share stake in Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN, Financial), a San Mateo, California-based financial services company, for an average price of $43.29 per share. The deal had a -1.12% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Franklin Resources has a market cap of $22.24 billion and an enterprise value of $13.24 billion. It has a P/E of 11.2, a forward P/E of 12.1, a P/B of 1.9 and a P/S of 2.9. GuruFocus has given Franklin Resources a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
Four other gurus – Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) – sold their stakes in Franklin Resources in the third quarter.
Franklin Resources sold for $36.97 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 314,815-share stake in Huntsman Corp. (HUN, Financial), a chemicals company based in The Woodlands, Texas, with executive offices in Salt Lake City, for an average price of $17.21 per share. The transaction had a -0.93% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Huntsman has a market cap of $2.8 billion and an enterprise value of $7.43 billion. It has a P/E of 55.9, a forward P/E of 5.1, a P/B of 1.7 and a P/S of 0.3. GuruFocus has given Huntsman a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10.
No other gurus sold their stakes in Huntsman in the third quarter.
Huntsman sold for $11.41 per share Thursday.
Black acquired a 77,350-share stake in United Rentals Inc. (URI, Financial), a Greenwich, Connecticut-based equipment rental company, for an average price of $95.76 per share, then sold the stake for an average price of $69.41 per share in the third quarter. The divestiture had a -0.91% impact on Black’s portfolio.
United Rentals has a market cap of $6.92 billion and an enterprise value of $15.27 billion. It has a P/E of 12.1, a forward P/E of 8.3, a P/B of 4.6 and a P/S of 1.3. GuruFocus has given United Rentals a Financial Strength rating of 6/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
Seven other gurus – Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) – also sold their stakes in United Rentals in the third quarter.
United Rentals sold for $74.6 per share Thursday.
Black sold his 123,021-share stake in Fluor Corp. (FLR, Financial), an Irving, Texas-based engineering and construction company, for an average price of $46.98 per share. The divestiture had a -0.88% impact on Black’s portfolio.
Fluor has a market cap of $6.9 billion and an enterprise value of $5.98 billion. It has a P/E of 10.9, a forward P/E of 12.9, a P/B of 2.3 and a P/S of 0.4. GuruFocus has given Fluor a Financial Strength rating of 8/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) sold his stake in Fluor in the third quarter.
Fluor sold for $48.71 per share Thursday.
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