Legendary financier George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)’ investment firm Soros Fund Management reported its fourth-quarter portfolio to the SEC Thursday, revealing 36 new stock purchases.
The fund’s largest new positions consisted of SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial (XLF, Financial), iShares Russell 1000 (IWB, Financial), Philip Morris International Inc. (PM, Financial), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, Financial) and Berkshire Hathaway stock Red Hat Inc. (RHT, Financial). The firm exited a further 54 positions during the quarter, leaving it with 141 holdings valued at $2.78 billion, the least invested the portfolio has been since the fourth quarter of 2011.
Soros, who has a historic trading record, hired Dawn Fitzpatrick as the firm’s chief investment officer in 2017. The family office has also expanded into private equity and venture capital funds, investing globally.
Soros Fund Management’s two most significant equity positions are in Liberty Broadband Corp. (LBRDK), which occupies 18.9% of the portfolio, and VICI Properties Inc. (VICI), at 14.12%. It has diverse sector allocations, with 24.75% dedicated to communication services, up from 19.38% in the third quarter, and 16.22% to financial services, down from 16.28%.
New purchases
SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial (XLF, Financial)
The firm purchased 2,025,759 shares of SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial (XLF, Financial), giving it 1.74% portfolio weight.
SPDR Select Sector Fund - Financial has a market cap of $24.08 billion; its shares were traded around $26.43 with a price-earnings ratio of 11.13. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of SPDR Select Sector Fund - Financial is 1.86%.
iShares Russell 1000 (IWB, Financial)
The firm purchased 285,531 shares of the iShares Russell 1000, giving it 1.42% portfolio weight. The ETF’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $149.
iShares Russell 1000 has a market cap of $18.91 billion; its shares were traded around $154.52 with a price-earnings ratio of 18.29. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of iShares Russell 1000 is 1.82%.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM, Financial)
The firm purchased 590,000 shares of the company, giving it 1.42% of the portfolio. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $83.
Philip Morris International Inc. has a market cap of $129.75 billion; its shares were traded around $83.46 with a price-earnings ratio of 16.45 and price-sales ratio of 4.37. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Philip Morris International Inc. stocks is 5.38%. The forward dividend yield of Philip Morris International Inc. stocks is 5.57%. Philip Morris International Inc had an annual average earnings growth of 3.20% over the past 10 years.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, Financial)
The firm purchased 612,315 shares of Verizon Communications, giving it 1.24% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $57.
Verizon Communications Inc. has a market cap of $227.92 billion; its shares were traded around $55.16 with a price-earnings ratio of 14.63 and price-sales ratio of 1.72. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Verizon Communications Inc. stocks is 4.32%. The forward dividend yield of Verizon Communications Inc. stocks is 4.46%.
The firm purchased 141,183 shares of Red Hat Inc., giving it 0.89% portfolio weight. The stock’s fourth-quarter share price averaged $160.
Red Hat Inc. has a market cap of $31.99 billion; its shares were traded around $180.98 with a price-earnings ratio of 123.12 and price-sales ratio of 10.44. Red Hat Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 15.60% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Red Hat Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
See George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)’ portfolio here.
Read more here:Â
Seth Klarman Discloses 4th-Quarter Stock Purchases
5 Stocks Warren Buffett Keeps Buying
Wallace Weitz's Firm Starts Positions in 6 Stocks in 4th Quarter
