The first quarter was a rough one for investors, many of whom reduced stakes or sold them entirely. Guru Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) of Horizon Kinetics was no different; he bought some stakes and added to some, but most of his significant deals involved reductions of existing stakes in his portfolio.
Stahl sold portions of nearly 300 stakes in the first quarter. Here are some of his most high-profile reductions.
Stahl trimmed his stakes in two of the stock components of Liberty Interactive Corp. (LVNTA, Financial)(QVCA, Financial), a Douglas County, Colorado-based media holding company.
He sold 1,513,389 of his LVNTA shares, nearly 58% of his stake, for an average price of $38.04 per share. The transaction had a -1.47% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.
The remaining stake of 1,115,744 shares is 0.18% of LVNTA’s outstanding shares and 1.09% of Stahl’s total assets. LVNTA’s leading shareholder among the gurus is Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio) with a stake of 8,080,186 shares. The stake is 1.28% of LVNTA’s outstanding shares and 5.14% of Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio)’ total assets.
LVNTA has a P/E of 18.7, a forward P/E of 23.6, a P/B of 2.4 and a P/S of 1.6.
LVNTA sold for $38.53 per share Tuesday afternoon.
The guru sold 1,638,576 of his QVCA shares, more than 42% of his stake, for an average price of $25.1 per share. The deal had a -0.97% impact on his portfolio.
The remaining stake of 2,248,114 shares is 0.36% of QVCA’s outstanding shares and 1.42% of Stahl’s total assets. Dodge & Cox is QVCA’s leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 21,000,273 shares. The stake is 3.34% of QVCA’s outstanding shares and 0.56% of Dodge & Cox’s total assets.
QVCA has a P/E of 18.8, a forward P/E of 15.9, a P/B of 2.4 and a P/S of 1.6.
GuruFocus gives Liberty Interactive a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10.
QVCA sold for $26.22 per share Tuesday afternoon.
Stahl reduced his position in The Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC, Financial), a Dallas-based real estate development company, by almost 12%. Stahl sold 483,769 shares for an average price of $96.46 per share. The transaction had a -1.18% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.
The remaining stake of 3,704,860 shares is 9.33% of the company’s outstanding shares and 9.79% of Stahl’s total assets. Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio) is Howard Hughes’ leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 5,484,684 shares. The stake is 13.81% of the company’s outstanding shares and 4.38% of Ackman’s total assets.
Howard Hughes has a P/E of 36.7, a P/B of 1.7 and a P/S of 5.3. GuruFocus gives Howard Hughes a Financial Strength rating of 6/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Howard Hughes sold for $102.42 per share Tuesday afternoon.
Stahl cut his stake in Jarden Corp. (JAH, Financial), a U.S.-based consumer goods company, by nearly 20%. Stahl sold 613,447 shares for an average price of $53.45 per share. The deal had a -0.76% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.
The remaining stake of 2,460,911 shares is 1.12% of Jarden’s outstanding shares and 3.62% of Stahl’s total assets. Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) is Jarden’s leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 3,918,376 shares. The stake is 1.78% of Jarden’s outstanding shares and 1.49% of Diamond Hill’s total assets.
Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) was the only other guru who sold a portion of his stake in Jarden in the first quarter. Fisher sold more than 78% of his stake. Thirteen of the gurus we follow at GuruFocus.com own stakes in Jarden.
Jarden has a P/E of 85.5, a forward P/E of 17.8, a P/B of 3.2 and a P/S of 1.4. GuruFocus gives Jarden a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10.
Jarden sold for $58.97 per share Tuesday afternoon.
The guru reduced his stake in AutoNation Inc. (AN, Financial), a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based auto retailer, by more than 15%. Stahl sold 482,966 shares for an average price of $48.57 per share. The transaction had a -0.62% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.
The remaining stake of 2,645,007 shares is 2.47% of AutoNation’s outstanding shares and 3.08% of Stahl’s total assets. Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio) is AutoNation’s leading shareholder among the gurus with a stake of 6,791,340 shares. The stake is 6.33% of AutoNation’s outstanding shares and 27.8% of Lampert’s total assets.
AutoNation has a P/E of 12.4, a forward P/E of 10.2, a P/B of 2.3 and a P/S of 0.3. GuruFocus gives AutoNation a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
AutoNation sold for $48.22 per share Tuesday afternoon.
Stahl slashed his stake in IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC, Financial), a New York-based media and Internet company, by more than 95% with the sale of 440,985 shares for an average price of $48.34 per share. The deal had a -0.57% impact on Stahl’s portfolio.
The remaining stake of 21,027 shares is 0.03% of IAC/InterActiveCorp’s outstanding shares and 0.02% of Stahl’s total assets. IAC/InterActiveCorp’s leading shareholder among the gurus is David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio) with a stake of 2.5 million shares. The stake is 3.01% of IAC/InterActiveCorp’s outstanding shares and 2.75% of Einhorn’s total assets.
IAC/InterActiveCorp has a P/E of 35.1, a forward P/E of 11.1, a P/B of 2.2 and a P/S of 1.3. GuruFocus gives IAC/InterActiveCorp a Financial Strength rating of 5/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 8/10.
IAC/InterActiveCorp sold for $47.03 per share Tuesday afternoon.
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