As manager of Tilson Dividend Fund, Zeke Ashton (Trades, Portfolio) has overseen some impressive returns in recent years – 7.2% in 2014, 16.78% in 2013 and 17.94% in 2012. Ashton is also the founder and managing partner of value-oriented Centaur Capital Partners, a Dallas-based asset management company. Smaller than most gurus’ portfolios, Ashton’s portfolio got a little smaller in the second quarter as he sold 10 existing stakes and replaced them with five new ones.
The sale with the greatest impact to his portfolio was his sale of his 102,500-share stake in Iconix Brand Group Inc. (ICON, Financial), a New York-based brand management company, for an average price of $27.95 per share. The sale had a -4.81% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Iconix Brand Group has a market cap of $629.81 million and an enterprise value of $2.16 billion. It has a P/E of 5.2, a Price/Book of 0.7 and a Price/Sales of 1.7. Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Iconix Brand Group in their portfolios.
Ashton sold his 240,000-share stake in Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. (FSAM, Financial), a Greenwich, Ct.-based asset management company, for an average price of $10.52 per share. The deal had a -3.77% impact on his portfolio.
Fifth Street Asset Management has a market cap of $394.66 million and an enterprise value of $500.15 million. It has a Price/Book of 45.0 and a Price/Sales of 0.5. David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and HOTCHKIS & WILEY have shares of Fifth Street Asset Management in their portfolios.
Ashton sold the 92,500-share stake he bought in Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI, Financial) in the first quarter. He got an average price of $24.3 per share for his stake in the Toledo, Ohio-based glass packaging company. The sale had a -3.01% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Owens-Illinois has a market cap of $3.32 billion and an enterprise value of $7 billion. It has a Price/Book of 3.4 and a Price/Sales of 0.5. First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio), Robert Olstein (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Owens-Illinois in their portfolios.
Ashton also divested himself of his 125,000-share stake in Blucora Inc. (BCOR, Financial), a Bellevue, Wash.-based internet services provider, for an average price of $15.38 per share. The deal had a -2.38% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Blucora has a market cap of $539.48 million and an enterprise value of $488.42 million. It has a Price/Book of 1.0 and a Price/Sales of 1.1. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Blucora in their portfolios.
Ahston also sold his stakes in eBay Inc. (EBAY, Financial), Tetra Tech Inc. (TTEK, Financial), Fifth Street Finance Corporation (FSC, Financial), Acxiom Corp. (ACXM, Financial), Cryolife Inc. (CRY, Financial) and Hallmark Financial Services Inc. (HALL, Financial).
Ashton reduced five of his stakes in the second quarter, the most significant reduction being the sale of 70,000 shares of International Speedway Corp. (ISCA, Financial), a Daytona Beach, Fla.-based owner and manager of NASCAR race tracks, for an average price of $36.71 per share. The sale had a -3.19% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
International Speedway has a market cap of $1.5 billion and an enterprise value of $1.58 billion. It has a P/E of 27.7, a Price/Book of 1.1 and a Price/Sales of 2.4. John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of International Speedway in their portfolios.
Ashton purchased a 45,000-share stake in Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), a San Diego-based semiconductor company, for an average price of $68.24 per share. The amount of the acquisition may seem small, but it had a 4.85% impact on Ashton’s portfolio and was sufficient to make Qualcomm the seventh-most valuable stake in that portfolio.
Qualcomm has a market cap of $87.36 billion and an enterprise value of $80.59 billion. It has a P/E of 15.2, a Price/Book of 2.7 and a Price/Sales of 3.5. Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio), James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), David Rolfe (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio), Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Robert Olstein (Trades, Portfolio), John Buckingham (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio) and John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Qualcomm in their portfolios.
Ashton also acquired a 67,000-share stake in FLIR Systems Inc. (FLIR), a Wilsonville, Ore.-based producer of thermal imaging cameras, components and imaging sensors. Ashton paid an average price of $31.1 per share. The deal, which made FLIR Systems the 14th-most valuable stake in Ashton’s portfolio, had a 3.56% impact on that portfolio.
FLIR Systems has a market cap of $4.03 billion and an enterprise value of $3.94 billion. It has a P/E of 18.2, a Price/Book of 2.4 and a Price/Sales of 2.7. Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of FLIR Systems in their portfolios.
Ashton also purchased stakes in Chase Corp. (CCF) and Mind CTI Ltd. (MNDO) in the second quarter.
Ashton added to five existing stakes in the second quarter – Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS), Speedway Motorsports Inc. (TRK), Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC), Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. (GLRE) and Orion Energy Systems Inc. (OESX).
Ashton bought 38,000 shares of Keysight Technologies, a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based electronics company, for an average price of $34.22 per share. The transaction had a 2.04% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Keysight has a market cap of $5.57 billion and an enterprise value of $5.63 billion. It has a P/E of 16.6, a Price/Book of 5.0 and a Price/Sales of 1.9. PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Robert Olstein (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Keysight in their portfolios.
Ashton acquired 35,000 of Speedway Motorsports, a Concord, N.C.-based owner and manager of racing facilities, for an average price of $22.97 per share. The deal had a 1.37% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Speedway Motorsports has a market cap of $774.99 million and an enterprise value of $1.05 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.0 and a Price/Sales of 1.6. Ashton is Speedway Motorsports’ leading shareholder among the gurus; Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Cibelli (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) also have shares in Speedway Motorsports.
Ashton purchased 57,500 shares of Kulicke & Soffa Industries, a Singapore-based semiconductor company, for an average price of $13.92 per share. The transaction had a 1.16% impact on Ashton’s portfolio.
Kulicke & Soffa Industries has a market cap of $682.25 million and an enterprise value of $204.11 million. It has a P/E of 10.3, a Price/Book of 0.9 and a Price/Sales of 1.2. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Kulicke & Soffa Industries in their portfolios.
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