Richard Pzena Trims Walmart, Merck Positions

Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio), leader of Pzena Investment Management LLC, sold shares of the following stocks during the fourth quarter.

Anixter International

The guru trimmed the Anixter International Inc. (NYSE:AXE) position by 95.05%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.66%.

The distributor of network, electrical and utility power products has a market cap of $3.33 billion and an enterprise value of $4.59 billion.

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GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10. The return on equity of 15.46% and return on assets of 5.45% are outperforming 63% of companies in the industrial distribution industry. Its financial strength is rated 5 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.06 is below the industry median of 0.4.

John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) is the largest guru shareholder with 2.09% of outstanding shares, followed by Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.05% and Hotchkis & Wiley with 0.28%.

Walmart

The investor curbed the Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) stake by 46.56%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.41%.

The world’s largest retailer has a market cap of $329 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 20.34% and return on assets of 6.24% are outperforming 77% of companies in the Retail - Defense industry. Its financial strength is rated 5 out of 10.

The largest guru shareholder of the company is Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio)’ foundation with with 0.41% of outstanding shares, followed by Fisher with 0.38% and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies with 0.26%.

Merck

Pzena cut the Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) holding by 92.36%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.32%.

The producer of pharmaceutical products has a market cap of $212 billion and an enterprise value of $230 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The return on equity of 11.79% and the return on assets of 11.79% are outperforming 95% of companies in the drug manufacturer industry. Its financial strength is rated 5 out of 10. The equity-asset ratio of 0.32 is below the industry median of 0.61.

The largest guru shareholder of the company is the Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.42% of outstanding shares, followed by Fisher with 0.35% and Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.32%.

Oracle

The guru curbed his Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) position by 16.46%. The trade had an impact of -0.28% on the portfolio.

The marketer of enterprise IT solutions has a market cap of $178 billion and an enterprise value of $203 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10. The return on equity of 49.67% and return on assets of 10.1% are outperforming 81% of companies in the software industry. Its financial strength is rated 4 out of 10 with a cash-debt ratio of 0.53.

The company's largest guru shareholders include First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.96% of outstanding shares, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 0.70% and Fisher with 0.49%.

C&J Energy Services

The investor reduced the C&J Energy Services Inc. (NYSE:CJ) position by 19.83%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.21%.

The oil and gas equipment and services company has a market cap of $485.95 million and an enterprise value of $394 million.

The largest guru shareholders of the company are Hotchkis & Wiley with 8.97% of outstanding shares, Simons' firm with 2.93% and Arnold Schneider (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.46%.

JPMorgan Chase

Pzena trimmed the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) position by 13.47%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.20%.

The financial institution has a market cap of $25 billion and an enterprise value of $543 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10. The return on equity of 13.27% and return on assets of 1.35% are underperforming 74% of companies in the banks industry. Its financial strength is rated 3 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.79 is below the industry median of 1.19.

Other guru shareholders of the company are Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.90% of outstanding shares, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.73% and Dodge & Cox with 0.68%.

Bank of America

The investor reduced the Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) position by 8.12%. The portfolio was impacted by -0.19%.

The financial institution has a market cap of $308 billion and an enterprise value of $441 billion.

GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 4 out of 10. The return on equity of 9.72% and return on assets of 1.14% are outperforming 54% of companies in the banks industry. Its financial strength is rated 3 out of 10 with a cash-debt ratio of 0.64.

Buffett is the largest guru shareholder of the company with 10.31% of outstanding shares, followed by Dodge & Cox with 1.29% and PRIMECAP Management with 0.42%.

Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.

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