Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio)'s Fisher Asset Management disclosed its fourth-quarter portfolio this week, listing 137 new positions.
Managing a vast portfolio of 863 stocks, Fisher’s firm invests in “the countries and sectors most likely to generate the highest expected returns,” according to its website. The current portfolio is largely composed of securities in the financial services and technology sectors. According to GuruFocus data, the firm’s Purisima Fund outperformed the S&P 500 Index in 2015 with a return of 1.77%.
According to portfolio data reported to GuruFocus, the investor picked up 17 technology stocks during the quarter. His top five new positions in that sector are Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TOELY, Financial), Yaskawa Electric Corp. (YASKY, Financial), Hitachi Ltd. (HTHIY, Financial), Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (MRAAY, Financial) and Omron Corp. (OMRNY, Financial).
Tokyo Electron
Fisher invested in 1.97 million shares of Tokyo Electron for an average price of $45.47 per share, giving it 0.12% portfolio space.
The Japanese semiconductor manufacturer has a market cap of $33.43 billion; its American depositary receipts were trading around $50.84 on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 22.61, a price-book ratio of 5.21 and a price-sales ratio of 3.86.
The Peter Lynch chart below suggests the stock is overpriced as it is trading above its fair value.
GuruFocus ranked Tokyo Electron’s financial strength 9 out of 10 and its profitability and growth 7 out of 10. The company does not currently pay a dividend.
With 0.3% of outstanding shares, Fisher is the company’s only guru shareholder.
Yaskawa Electric
The investor purchased 986,213 shares of Yaskawa for an average price of $78.64 per share, expanding the portfolio 0.12%.
The Japanese manufacturer of electronic components has a market cap of $13.95 billion; its ADR shares were trading around $104.92 on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 46.81, a price-book ratio of 6.99 and a price-sales ratio of 3.52.
According to the Peter Lynch chart below, the stock is overpriced as it is trading above its fair value.
GuruFocus ranked Yaskawa’s financial strength 7 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10. The company does not currently pay a dividend.
Fisher holds 0.74% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Hitachi
Having previously exited a position in Hitachi in the second quarter of 2013, Fisher established a new holding of 925,930 shares, impacting the portfolio by 0.1%. He paid an average price of $75.95 per share.
The Japanese company, which provides information technology services, has a market cap of $40.33 billion; its ADR shares were trading around $84.39 on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 16.09, a price-book ratio of 1.42 and a price-sales ratio of 0.49.
Based on the Peter Lynch chart, the stock appears to be trading close to its fair value.
GuruFocus ranked Hitachi’s financial strength 6 of 10 and its profitability and growth 7 of 10. The company’s trailing dividend yield is 1.49% and its forward dividend yield is 1.48%. The dividend payout ratio is 24%.
Fisher owns 0.19% of the company’s outstanding shares.
Murata Manufacturing
Fisher bought 2.08 million shares of Murata Manufacturing for an average price of $35.50 per share. The trade had an impact of 0.09% on the portfolio.
The Japanese electronic components manufacturer has a market cap of $31.19 billion; its ADR shares were trading around $36.36 on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 20.48, a price-book ratio of 2.37 and a price-sales ratio of 2.86.
The Peter Lynch chart below suggests the stock is overpriced as it is trading above its fair value.
GuruFocus ranked Murata’s financial strength 8 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10. The company’s trailing dividend yield is 1.43% and its forward dividend yield is 1.55%. The payout ratio is 31%.
With 0.24% of outstanding shares, Fisher is the company’s sole guru shareholder.
Omron
Fisher invested in 1.01 million shares of Omron for an average price of $57.34 per share, giving it 0.08% portfolio space.
The Japanese manufacturer of electronic components and automation equipment has a market cap of $14.23 billion; its ADR shares were trading around $67 on Thursday with a price-earnings ratio of 26.09, a price-book ratio of 3.17 and a price-sales ratio of 1.91.
According to the Peter Lynch chart below, the stock is overpriced as it is trading above its fair value.
GuruFocus ranked Omron’s financial strength 9 of 10 and its profitability and growth 8 of 10. The company’s trailing dividend yield is 0.95% and its forward dividend yield is 0.93%. The payout ratio is 25%.
Fisher is the company’s sole guru shareholder.
Other tech buys
Other new tech investments Fisher made during the quarter include Panasonic Corp. (PCRFY, Financial), Kyocera Corp. (KYO, Financial), Accenture PLC (ACN, Financial), Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO, Financial), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and several other stocks. Tech stocks have a weight of 20% in Fisher’s portfolio.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.
