First Eagle Investment Boosts Stake in American Express

These were the fund's largest buys in the 1st quarter

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May 06, 2016
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First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) is an independent firm with approximately $94 billion in assets under management. During the first quarter the fund bought shares in many stocks:

The fund increased its stake in Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) by136.62% with an impact of 1.64% on the portfolio.

The company is a private owner of timberlands. It owns or controls nearly 7 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manages additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company reported a 7% increase in quarterly dividends and repurchased over $500 million in common shares in the fourth quarter.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 5 out of 10 with ROE of 9.24% and ROA of 3.92% that are outperforming 69% of the companies in the Global Lumber & Wood Production industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.19 that is below the industry median of 0.33.

Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's second-leading shareholder among the gurus with 7.07% of outstanding shares followed by Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. with 1.37%, T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.35%, Martin Whitman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.49%, Ken Heebner (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.36%, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.08%, Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07% and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.

The guru acquired 3,524,686 shares in Amphenol Corp. (APH) with an impact of 0.52% on the portfolio.

The company designs, manufactures and markets electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems and coaxial and specialty cable. Compared to the first quarter of 2015, sales increased by 9%, driven by contributions from the company’s successful acquisition program, with growth in the mobile networks, information technology and data communications, industrial and automotive markets. For the second quarter sales are expected in the range of $1.50 billion to $1.534 billion, an increase over 2015 of 11% to 14%.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10 with ROE of 23.45% and ROA of 9.98% that are outperforming 88% of the companies in the Global Electronic Components industry. Financial strength has a rating of 8 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.25 that is below the industry median of 1.45.

Other notable shareholders among the gurus are Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.14% of outstanding shares, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.24%, Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14%, Westport Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.13%, Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02% and Greenblatt with 0.02%.

The fund raised its stake in American Express Co. (AXP) by 22.36% with an impact of 0.44% on the portfolio.

The company together with its subsidiaries is a service company that provides customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with ROE of 23.22% and ROA 3.22% that are outperforming 55% of the companies in the Global Credit Services industry. Financial strength has a rating of 4 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.50 that is far below the industry median of 9,999.

Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 15.94% of outstanding shares followed by Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 1.93%, Dodge & Cox with 1.8%, Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.61%, Fisher with 1.24% and Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.53%.

The guru bought 1,526,829 shares in F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) with an impact of 0.41% on the portfolio.

The company provides Application Delivery Networking (ADN) technology that secures and optimizes the delivery of network-based applications and the security, performance and availability of servers and other network resources. First-quarter revenue had 6% growth from the first quarter of fiscal 2015, and GAAP net income was $1.28 per diluted share compared to $1.21 per diluted share in the same quarter of a year ago.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 10 out of 10 with ROE of 27.72% and ROA of 15.65% that are outperforming 90% of other companies in the Global Software - Infrastructure industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with no debt.

Other notable shareholders among the gurus are Simons with 1.54% of outstanding shares followed by Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.25%, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.13%, Greenblatt with 0.53%, Grantham with 0.24%, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.22% and Jones with 0.04%.

The fund raised its stake in Varian Medical Systems Inc. (VAR) by 144.88% with an impact of 0.38% on the portfolio.

The company manufactures medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10 with ROE of 23.61% and ROA of 10.95% that are outperforming 87% of the companies in the Global Medical Devices industry. Financial strength has a rating of 9 out of 10 with cash to debt of 1.21 that is below the industry median of 2.54.

Westport Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio) is the company's second-largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.29% of outstanding shares followed by Simons with 0.2%, Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.19%, CI Can Am Small Cap (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.06%, Dalio with 0.05% and David Rolfe (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.03%.

The fund bought 2,812,702 shares in Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) with an impact of 0.32% on the portfolio.

It is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of animal health medicines and vaccines with a focus on both livestock and companion animals. During the first quarter the company delivered 12% operational growth in revenue and 28% operational growth in adjusted net income.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 27.96% and ROA of 4.95% that are outperforming 57% of the companies in the Global Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.24 that is below the industry median of 3.71.

The largest shareholder among the gurus is Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio) with 8.41% of outstanding shares followed by Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.89%, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.7%, George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.68%, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.12% and Simons with 0.06%.

The fund raised its shares in Honeywell International Inc. (HON) by 140,383.87% with an impact of 0.3% on the portfolio.

It is a diversified technology and manufacturing company, serving customers with aerospace products and services, control, sensing and security technologies for buildings, homes and industry, turbochargers, automotive products, specialty chemicals, electronic and process technology for refining and petrochemicals and energy efficient products and solutions for homes, businesses and transportation.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 26.81% and ROA of 10.16% that are outperforming 89% of the companies in the Global Diversified Industrials industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.46 that is below the industry median of 1.11.

Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss is the company's largest shareholder among the gurus with 1.64% of outstanding shares followed by PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.64%, Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.29%, Gabelli with 027%, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.23% and Grantham with 0.17%.