Larry Robbins Buys 7 Stocks in 3rd Quarter

Health care investor buys only one stock in health care

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Nov 19, 2018
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Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), founder of hedge fund Glenview Capital, purchased eight stocks in the third quarter, only one of which resides in his favored health care sector, he revealed in a filing last week.

Robbins’ portfolios at Glenview were valued around $15.74 billion at the end of the third quarter, with 49% of the 58 listed stocks harbored in the health care sector. The concentration has contributed to uneven returns over the years. The firm reportedly declined 3.45% for the first half of 2018, while the health care sector sunk 2.1%. A 23.38% gain surged in 2017, deviating from two prior years of losses.

In a 2011 interview with Graham and Dodd, Robbins described his investing process as researching the pool of 1,000 to 1,500 “truly investible companies that fit our definition of a good business” and waiting for “stock price dislocation.”

“Every six months, we have a ‘what grows’ session in which we take a giant step back and say, ‘We're not venture capitalists, we're not smart enough to figure out who's the next Facebook or the next Groupon, but where's the growth going to come from over the next three, five, ten years secularly, and how can we position ourselves to take advantage,’” Robbins said.

In the third quarter, Robbins drew from the semiconductor sector for his largest new buy, NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI, Financial). His next largest purchases were software application companies Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN, Financial) and Symantec Corp. (SYMC, Financial). An assortment of companies populated his smaller buys: Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR, Financial), Worldpay Inc. (WP, Financial), Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC, Financial), LyondellBasell industries NV (LYB, Financial) and Albemarle Corp. (ALB, Financial).

NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI, Financial)

Robbins purchased 2,035,855 shares of NXP Semiconductors, giving it 1.11% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $96 per share.

NXP Semiconductors NV has a market cap of $24.04 billion; its shares were traded around $81.36 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 10.05 and price-sales ratio of 2.92. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of NXP Semiconductors NV stocks is 0.30%. The forward dividend yield of NXP Semiconductors NV stocks is 1.18%. NXP Semiconductors NV had an annual average earnings growth of 26.70% over the past five years.

Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN, Financial)

Robbins purchased 9,906,402 shares of Nuance Communications, giving it 1.09% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $16 per share.

Nuance Communications Inc. has a market cap of $4.67 billion; its shares were traded around $16.27 with and P/S ratio of 2.41. Nuance Communications Inc had an annual average earnings growth of 5.40% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Nuance Communications Inc. the business predictability rank of 3-star.

Symantec Corp. (SYMC, Financial)

Robbins purchased 6,284,724 shares of Symantec Corp., giving it 0.85% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $20 per share.

Symantec Corp. has a market cap of $14.36 billion; its shares were traded around $22.26 with a price-earnings ratio of 12.38 and price-sales ratio of 3.05. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Symantec Corp. stocks is 1.35%. The forward dividend yield of Symantec Corp. stocks is 1.30%.

Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR, Financial)

Robbins purchased 1,196,359 shares of Dollar Tree Inc., giving it 0.62% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $88 per share.

Dollar Tree Inc. has a market cap of $19.99 billion; its shares were traded around $84.03 with a price-earnings ratio of 11.67 and price-sales ratio of 0.88. Dollar Tree Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 20.50% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Dollar Tree Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

Worldpay Inc. (WP, Financial)

Robbins purchased 924,527 shares of Worldpay Inc., giving it 0.59% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $91 per share.

Worldpay Inc. has a market cap of $24.48 billion; its shares were traded around $78.45 Monday with a price-sales ratio of 4.97. Worldpay Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 10.10% over the past five years.

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC, Financial)

Robbins purchased 3,529,605 shares of Bausch Health Companies, giving it 0.58% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $23 per share.

Bausch Health Companies Inc. has a market cap of $8.29 billion; its shares were traded around $23.50 with a price-sales ratio of 0.99. Bausch Health Companies Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 28.80% over the past 10 years.

LyondellBasell Industries NV (LYB, Financial)

Robbins purchased 460,300 shares of LyondellBasell Industries, giving it 0.30% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $109 per share.

Lyondellbasell Industries NV has a market cap of $35.6 billion; its shares were traded around $92.78 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 6.20 and price-sales ratio of 0.95. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of LyondellBasell Industries NV stocks is 4.19%. The forward dividend yield of LyondellBasell Industries NV stocks is 4.19%. LyondellBasell Industries NV had an annual average earnings growth of 12.50% over the past five years.

Albemarle Corp. (ALB, Financial)

Robbins purchased 343,932 shares of Albemarle Corp., giving it 0.22% portfolio weight. The stock’s third-quarter price averaged $97 per share.

Albemarle Corp. has a market cap of $10.58 billion; its shares were traded around $99.61 Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 31.72 and price-sales ratio of 3.34. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Albemarle Corp. stocks is 1.32%. The forward dividend yield of Albemarle Corp stocks is 1.33%. Albemarle Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 6.30% over the past 10 years.

See Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio)’ portfolio here.