Warren Buffett met Lou Simpson (Trades, Portfolio) in 1996 when he was CEO of Geico's capital operations and Buffett was completing his purchase of Geico. Throughout his time with Berkshire, Simpson and Buffett's stock picks sometimes overlapped due to similarities in their thinking, but both men clearly had independent processes and disagreed with each other sometimes as well.
The following are the holdings in Simpson's portfolio with the highest GuruFocus business predictability rating.
Simpson holds 8,135,680 shares of Ametek Inc. (AME) and the stake is 14.3% of his total assets.
GuruFocus gives the company a business predictability of 5 out of 5 stars. The company is a manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with operations in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 21.20, and the price has been as high as $57.67 and as low as $47.85 in the last 52 weeks. It is currently 8.18% below its 52-week high and 10.66% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks overpriced by 9%.
During the last quarter, sales decreased by 3% compared to the last year's third quarter, while operating income increased 3%.
Simpson is largest shareholder of the company among the gurus, followed by Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) with 2.68%, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.11% and Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47%.
Simpson also holds 13,440,590 shares of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM) and the stake is 14.19% of his total assets.
GuruFocus gives the company a business predictability of 4 out of 5 stars and it owns and operates assets with a focus on property, renewable energy, infrastructure and private equity. Its segments include Asset management, Property, Renewable energy, Infrastructure, Private equity, Residential development, Service and Corporate.
The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 13.30, and the price has been as high as $39.00 and as low as $29.83 in the last 52 weeks. It is currently 19.41% below its 52-week high and 5.36% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks overpriced by 24%.
Simpson is largest shareholder of the company among the gurus, followed by Glenn Greenberg (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.89%, Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.52% and Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.48%.
Simpson holds 21 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) and the stake is 0.14% of his total assets.
GuruFocus gives the company a business predictability of 3 out of 5 stars. Berkshire is a holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities, including insurance and reinsurance, freight rail transportation, utilities and energy, finance, manufacturing, service and retailing.
The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 14 and the price has been as high as $229,000 and as low as $190,007 in the last 52 weeks. It is currently 14.97% below its 52-week high and 2.48% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks undervalued and offers a margin of safety of 7%.
During the last quarter, the company reported premium growth of 11.2% from the year ago period.
Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) is the largest shareholder among the gurus with 0.57% of outstanding shares, followed by Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.31%, Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.29% and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.21%.
Simpson holds 12,460,227 shares of Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) and the stake is 11.95% of his total assets.
GuruFocus gives the company a business predictability of 3 out of 5 stars. The company is engaged in securities brokerage, banking and related financial services. It provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments namely Investor Services and Advisor Services.
The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 31.90 and has been as high as $35.72 and as low as $25.43 in the last 52 weeks. The price is currently 10.67% below its 52-week high and 25.48% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks undervalued with a margin of safety of 174%.
Third quarter earnings grew by 17% year-over-year and net income increased by 7% from the same quarter of a year before.
Dodge & Cox is largest shareholder of the company among the gurus with 7.32% of outstanding shares, followed by PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 4.28%, Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio) with 3.19% and Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.02%.
Simpson holds 3,408,327 shares of Crown Holdings Inc. (CCK) and the stake is 5.24% of his total assets.
GuruFocus gives the company a business predictability of 3 out of 5 stars. Crown designs, manufactures and sells packaging products for consumer goods. The company's products include steel and aluminum cans for food, beverage, household and other consumer products and metal vacuum closures and caps.
The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 19.80, and the price has been as high as $57.08 and as low as $43.85 in the last 52 weeks. It is 15.07% below its 52-week high and 10.56% above its 52-week low. According to the DCF calculator, the company looks overpriced by 86%.
EPS on a constant-currency basis grew 14% in third quarter and 12% year to date. Third quarter revenue grew 6%, while segment income grew 13%.
Simpson is largest shareholder of the company among the gurus with 2.44% of outstanding shares, followed by RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.38%, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.21% and PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07%.
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