Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio), founder of Dallas-based Maverick Capital, disclosed last week that his top five buys for the fourth quarter included a new holding in Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK, Financial) and position boosts in the following companies: Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST, Financial), Fleetcor Technologies Inc. (FLT, Financial), Netflix Inc. (NFLX, Financial) and DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD, Financial).
Managing a portfolio of 337 stocks, Ainslie employs six industry heads, each with expertise in a specific market sector. The former protégé of Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio)'s Tiger Management talks to each of his experts throughout the day and makes the ultimate decision regarding the trades.
During the quarter, the $6.87 billion equity portfolio established 110 new positions, with turnover of 28%. The top three sectors in terms of weight are technology, consumer cyclical and health care, with weights of 24.15%, 18.47% and 15.92%.
New buy: Crown Holdings
Ainslie purchased 2,830,353 shares of Crown Holdings, giving the stake 2.99% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged $71.51 during the quarter.
The Yardley, Pennsylvania-based company manufactures a wide range of metal packages, including beverage cans, metal food cans and aerosol cans. GuruFocus ranks Crown's profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a five-star business predictability rank and a return on equity that outperforms over 97% of global competitors despite operating margins contracting approximately 1.1% per year on average over the past five years.
Other gurus that purchased shares in Crown include Philippe Laffont (Trades, Portfolio) and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio).
Monster
Having increased the holding over 2,731% in the third quarter, Ainslie increased it further during the fourth quarter, adding 2,322,408 shares. The shares averaged $60.64 during the September quarter and $58.88 during the December quarter.
The Corona, California-based company develops and markets energy drinks through its subsidiaries. GuruFocus ranks Monster's financial strength and profitability 10 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include no long-term debt, a high Piotroski F-score of 8, a 3.5-star business predictability rank and operating margins that have increased approximately 6.40% per year over the past five years and are outperforming over 96% of global competitors.
Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) also increased his stake in Monster during the quarter, adding 2,410,588 shares.
Fleetcor
Ainslie added 439,746 shares of Fleetcor, increasing the position 349.05% and the equity portfolio 1.84%. Shares averaged $295.11 during the quarter.
The Peachtree Corners, Georgia-based company provides specialized payment products, including fleet cards, food cards and corporate lodging discount cards. GuruFocus ranks Fleetcor's profitability 10 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a 4.5-star business predictability rank, a high Piotroski F-score of 8 and operating margins that have increased approximately 2.50% per year on average over the past five years and are outperforming over 97% of global competitors.
Netflix
Ainslie added 281,796 shares of Netflix, increasing the position 53.9% and the equity portfolio 1.33%. Shares averaged $297.76 during the quarter.
The Los Gatos, California-based company provides streaming video on demand services around the globe. GuruFocus ranks Netflix's profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a 4.5-star business predictability rank and expanding profit margins. Despite this, Netflix's Piotroski F-score is a weak 3 out of 9.
DuPont
Ainslie added 1,320,854 shares of DuPont, increasing the stake 22.69% and the equity portfolio 1.23%. Shares averaged $66.07 during the quarter.
The Wilmington, Delaware-based company delivers specialty, technology-based solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. According to GuruFocus, DuPont's operating margin outperforms 71.69% of global competitors, suggesting moderately strong profitability.
Disclosure: No positions.
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