Jeff Ubben (Trades, Portfolio) is founder, CEO and chief investment officer of ValueAct Holding LP. During the first quarter, he exited his stake in Halliburton Co. (HAL) but acquired a new position in Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS).
The Halliburton Co. stake was closed with an impact of -3.89% on the portfolio.
The company is a provider of services and products to the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas industry.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with ROE of -16.22% and ROA of -7.52% that are underperforming 63% of the companies in the Global Oil & Gas Equipment & Services industry. Financial strength is rated at 6 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.62 that is above the industry median of 0.43.
The largest shareholder among the gurus is Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.79% of outstanding shares followed by Glenn Greenberg (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.75%, Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.6%, Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.41%, First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.38%, Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.34% and Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.23%.
Alliance Data Systems Corp. was a new stake. The guru acquired 541,115 shares with an impact of 1.19% on the portfolio.
The company is a provider of transaction-based, data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions serving large, consumer-based businesses in a variety of industries.
During the first quarter, revenues grew 5% and core EPS grew 5% from the same quarter a year before. The company reported 1% growth for net income attributable to Alliance Data stockholders per diluted share.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with ROE of 27.7% and ROA of 2.85% that is underperforming 55% of the companies in the Global Business Services industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.08 that is far below the industry median of 1.58.
Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) is the other notable shareholder of the company among the gurus, with 0.92% of outstanding shares followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.42%, Ronald Muhlenkamp (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.21%, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.18% and Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.08%.
The guru reduced his shares in Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) by 99.96% with an impact of -9.11% on the portfolio.
The company offers a line of software and services used by creative professionals, marketers, developers, enterprises and consumers for creating, managing, delivering, measuring, optimizing and engaging with compelling operating systems.
During the first quarter it achieved record quarterly revenue of $1.38 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 25%, and the Digital Media segment grew revenue by 33% year over year.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 11.71% and ROA of 6.97% that are outperforming 68% of the companies in the Global Software - Application industry. Financial strength has a rating of 8 out of 10, with cash to debt of 2.14 that is far below the industry median of 22.21.
PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) is the other notable shareholder of the company among the gurus, with 6.64% of outstanding shares followed by Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.22%, Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.22%, Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.01% and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.88%.
The investor reduced his shares in Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) by 53.3% with an impact of -4.44% on the portfolio.
The company designs, manufactures and sells communications infrastructure, devices, system software and applications, and provide services associated with their use. Its products include bar code scanners and mobile computers, among others.
During the last quarter, operating margin grew 110 bps on lower cost structure, and non-GAAP EPS increased by 37%. It reported revenue growth of 2%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10 with ROE of 82.76% and ROA of 6.27% that are outperforming 75% of the companies in the Global Communication Equipment industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.40 that is far below the industry median of 4.33.
Other notable shareholders among the gurus are Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 4.7% of outstanding shares followed by Leon Cooperman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.79%, Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47%, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.25%, Jerome Dodson (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.17%, Dodge & Cox with 0.04% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.
Ubben reduced his shares in Agrium Inc. (AGU) by 68.31% with an impact of -4.23% on the portfolio.
The company is a retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North and South America and producer and marketer of agricultural nutrients and industrial products.
During the first quarter, the company acquired 27 retail locations through acquisitions in Canada and the U.S., adding expected annual incremental EBITDA of over $11 million. It reported net earnings of 2 cents per diluted share compared to 8 cents per diluted share in the first quarter 2015.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with ROE of 15.37% and ROA of 5.60% that are outperforming 64% of the companies in the Global Agricultural Inputs industry. Financial strength is rated 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.05 that is below the industry median of 0.58.
Dodge & Cox is the other notable shareholder of the company among the gurus, with 2.29% of outstanding shares, followed by NWQ Managers (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.7%, Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.13%, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.12% and Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.1%.
The investor reduced his shares in MSCI Inc. (MSCI) by 35.82% with an impact of -1.13% on the portfolio.
The company provides investment decision support tools, including indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and corporate governance products and services from brands such as Barra, RiskMetrics and IPD.
During the first quarter it reported a 6.1% increase in operating revenues and 36.4% increase in diluted EPS from continuing operations. Adjusted EBITDA grew 23.7%, and it had a 680 basis point increase in adjusted EBITDA margin to 47.8%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10 with ROE of 21.73% and ROA of 7.94% that are outperforming 73% of the companies
in the Global Business Services industry. Financial strength is rated 7 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.28 that is below the industry median of 1.58.
Other notable shareholders among the gurus are Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.64% of outstanding shares, Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.
The guru increased his shares of Willis Towers Watson PLC. (WLTW) by 10.42% with an impact of 0.86% on the portfolio.
The company is an insurance broker. It provides insurance brokerage, reinsurance and risk management consulting services.
Adjusted revenues increased 13% over the first quarter 2015 and revenues grew 11%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 9.80% and ROA of 1.93% that are out performing 54% of the companies in the Global Insurance Brokers industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10, with cash to debt of 0.24.
David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) is the other notable shareholder of the company among the gurus, with 3.13% of outstanding shares followed by First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.55%, Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.84%,Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 1.32%, Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.03%, Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.9%, Hotchkis & Wiley with 0.61% and Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47%.
