Mairs and Power (Trades, Portfolio) disclosed on Wednesday that the firm boosted its positions in Fiserv Inc. (FISV, Financial), Microsoft Inc. (MSFT, Financial), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, Financial)(GOOGL, Financial), Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW, Financial) and CoreSite Reality Corp. (COR, Financial) during the first quarter.
The firm follows a consistent and conservative investment approach: usually, the firm holds equity securities for relatively long periods of time to maximize tax efficiency and build shareholder value through the power of compounding.
Fiserv
The firm added 1,017,386 shares of Fiserv for an average price of $70.24 per share. The transaction increased the portfolio 0.90%.
Fiserv provides various business services, including electric funds transfers, payment processing and loan processing. The company’s profitability ranks 9 out of 10, driven by several positive investing signs, including expanding operating margins, consistent revenue growth and an excellent Piotroski F-score of 8. GuruFocus ranks Fiserv’s business predictability 4.5 stars out of five.
The Brookfield, Wisconsin-based company made both the undervalued predictable screener and Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s list of good companies, suggesting good value potential. Several other gurus, including Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio)’s Bridgewater Associates, also invested in Fiserv during the quarter. Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake by approximately 365% as the company’s return on capital, by his definition, is near a 10-year high of 456.58% and outperforms 94% of global competitors.
Microsoft
Mairs & Power added 665,795 shares of Microsoft, expanding the position 445.68%. The company’s stock averaged $91.45 during the quarter; the firm increased its portfolio 0.75% with this transaction.
Microsoft, founded by legendary businessman Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio), said on April 26 the latest quarterly results “reflect the trust people and organizations are placing on the Microsoft Cloud.” The company’s profitability ranks 8 out of 10 primarily due to consistent revenue growth and operating margins that outperform 93% of global competitors. GuruFocus ranks Microsoft’s business predictability 3.5 stars out of five.
Alphabet
Mairs & Power added 32,919 Class C shares of Alphabet for an average price of $1,103.99. With this transaction, the firm increased its portfolio 0.42%.
GuruFocus ranks Alphabet’s financial strength 8 out of 10 as the company has robust interest coverage and a strong Altman Z-score of 12.22. The Google parent company’s debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03 and debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.14 ranks higher than 93% and 87% of global online media companies.
Charles Schwab
The firm added 678,902 shares of Charles Schwab for an average price of $53.56 per share. With this transaction, Mairs & Power increased its portfolio 0.24%.
Charles Schwab runs a large network of brick-and-mortar branch offices that provide retail brokerage and banking, retirement plan and other corporate brokerage services. The company’s profitability ranks a low 4 out of 10 primarily due to returns on assets underperforming 61% of global competitors.
CoreSite
Mairs & Power added 193,855 shares of CoreSite for an average price of $102.39 per share. With this transaction, the firm increased its portfolio 0.24%.
CoreSite, a Denver-based real estate investment trust, acquires, constructs and operates data centers in large urban markets across the U.S. The REIT’s financial strength ranks a low 4 out of 10 primarily due to a modest Altman Z-score of 1.97 and a Beneish M-score that suggests possible earnings manipulation.
See also
Mairs & Power also disclosed the firm’s top three buys for the quarter were Littelfuse Inc. (LFUS, Financial), Old National Bancorp (ONB, Financial) and American Tower Corp. (AMT, Financial).
Disclosure: No positions.
