David Carlson (Trades, Portfolio) is chief investment officer of U.S. Equities and a senior portfolio manager responsible for the management of the U.S. Premier Growth Equity and U.S. Equity Select strategies, Elfun Trusts mutual fund and the Damon Runyon equity portfolio. During the third quarter the guru’s largest trades were the following:
He reduced his stake in Baidu Inc. ADRĂ‚ (BIDU) by 50% with an impact of -1.43% on the portfolio.
The company is a Chinese language Internet search provider. It offers a Chinese-language search platform on its website Baidu.com. During the third quarter total revenues decreased 0.7% from the corresponding period in 2015 and increased 6.7% year over year; operating profit grew 11%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with ROE of 41.38% and ROA of 21.71% that are outperforming 93% of the companies in the Global Internet Content & Information industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 1.97 that is below the industry median of 7.38.
The largest shareholder among the gurus is Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.15% of outstanding shares followed by Dodge & Cox with 1.58%, Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.79%, Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.75%, David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.75% and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.75%.
The guru reduced his stake in LinkedIn Corp. Class AĂ‚ (LNKD) by 68.75% with an impact of -0.95 % on the portfolio.
The company operates a social website used for professional networking. Its website allows members to post profiles of their professional expertise and accomplishments. Third quarter GAAP diluted EPS was 6 cents compared to 36 cents last year, and total revenue increased 23% year over year to $960 million.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10 with ROE of -3.59% and ROA of -2.30% that are underperforming 68% of the companies in the Global Internet Content & Information industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 2.90 that is above the industry median of 7.38.
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus with 3.1% of outstanding shares followed by Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.96%, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.2%, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.16%, Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.15% and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.05%.
The investor acquired 270,000 shares in Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM) with an impact of 0.83% on the portfolio.
The company provides enterprise cloud computing solutions, offering social and mobile cloud apps and platform services as well as professional services to facilitate the adoption of its solutions.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 4.19% and ROA 1.77% that are underperforming 54% of the companies in the Global Software – Application industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.58 that is below the industry median of 11.16.
The largest shareholder among the gurus is Sands with 3.37% of outstanding shares followed by Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.1%, Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc with 0.27%, Simons with 0.27%, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.12%, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.05% and Stanley Druckenmiller (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.03%.
The guru closed his stake in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) with an impact of -0.69% on the portfolio.
It is a developer of destination properties that feature premium accommodations, world-class gaming, entertainment and retail, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants and other amenities. Third-quarter consolidated net revenue increased 2.6%, and adjusted property EBITDA increased 15.3%.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10 with ROE of 24.13% and ROA of 7.82% that are outperforming 80% of the companies in the Global Resorts & Casinos industry. Financial strength has a rating of 5 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.22 that is below the industry median of 0.74.
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus, with 0.72% of outstanding shares followed by T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.57%, PRIMECAP Management with 0.31%, Gabelli with 0.07%, Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07%, Simons with 0.03% and Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.
The investor reduced his stake in Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) by 7.14% with an impact of -0.33% on the portfolio.
The company sells its products through the website which provides advertising services and co-branded credit card agreements. It also offers electronic devices like Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets. Third quarter operating cash flow increased 49% and free cash flow increased to $8.6 billion compared with $5.4 billion for the same quarter of a year before.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 14.05% and ROA of 3.31% that are outperforming 56% of the companies in the Global Specialty Retail industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 2.24 that is above the industry median of 0.92.
The largest shareholder among the gurus is Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.69% of outstanding shares followed by Sands with 0.5%, Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47%, Segalas with 0.44%, Fisher with 0.42%, Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.35%, Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.31% and Cohen with 0.14%.
The investor raised his shares in Facebook Inc. Class AĂ‚ (FB) by 12.50% with an impact of 0.22% on the portfolio.
The company operates a social networking website. Its products are Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus. Its products enable people to connect and share through mobile devices and personal computers. Third-quarter net income increased 166% and diluted earnings per share went up 165%. The company reported 56% growth for total revenue.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 15.75% and ROA of 14.25% that are outperforming 67% of the companies in the Global Internet Content & Information industry. Financial strength has a rating of 9 out of 10 with no debt.
Sands is the largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.8% of outstanding shares followed by Halvorsen with 0.7%, Mandel with 0.38%, Segalas with 0.33%, Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.13%, Manning & Napier with 0.11% and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.1%.
The guru increased his stake in Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) by 16.07% with an impact of 0.22% on the portfolio.
It is engaged in designing, manufacturing, selling devices and online advertising. Its products include operating systems for computing devices, servers, phones and other devices.
GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10 with ROE of 22.30% and ROA of 8.80% that are outperforming 77% of the companies in the Global Software – Infrastructure industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 with cash to debt of 1.83 that is below the industry median of 11.16.
The largest shareholder among the gurus is PRIMECAP Management with 0.75% of outstanding shares followed by Jeff Ubben (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.73%, Dodge & Cox with 0.66%, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 0.32%, First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.3%, Fisher with 0.24%, Pioneer Investments with 0.22% and Mandel with 0.22%.
Disclosure: I do not own any shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.
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