(GuruFocus, February 17, 2010) Now the curtain is open; now we know which Guru bought what stocks during the fourth quarter of 2009. After the initial excitement, it is a time to sit back, sip coffee, and try to figure out the partners and trends that may help the rest of us investing better.
One thing the caught investors' attention is the number of gurus bought into Citigroup Inc. (C, Financial). Bloomberg ran an article by Nikolaj Gammeltoft and Whitney Kisling entitled “Citigroup Stock Proving Irresistible to Hedge Funds” today. It pointed out that during the fourth quarter of 2009, Citigroup stock bought by hedge funds outnumbered the amount sold by a ratio of more than 10 to 1 in the October-to- December period, with about 1.2 billion shares added on a net basis. Firms run by John Paulson, Eric Mindich and George Soros purchased almost half a billion shares in Citigroup Inc. Even Bruce Berkowitz, an investment manager who focuses on free cash flow, bought 214.7 million shares valued at $710.7 million. Anyone sees free cash flow from Citigroup yet?
The good thing is Citigroup is traded at price lower than the average 4Q09 price. So if you are convinced what is good for Paulson and Berkowitz, it is good enough for you, you can scoop up shares at prices cheaper than what these gurus paid for.
I secretively wish the investments the Gurus put in Citigroup play out, for selfish reasons: if not, i.e. if Citigroup goes belly-up, we may have to find another group of investment Gurus. Too much work there.
Another thing that people quickly pointed out is that number of Gurus who bought into Gold. GuruFocus columnist Trader Mark pointed out even George Soros, who claimed gold is a bubble, could not help buying into the bubble himself. Here is the list of Gurus that we track who held Spider Gold Shares (GLD, Financial). George Soros stands out as the one who bought most shares. Now almost 10% of his equity portfolio (it is a stretch to call GLD an equity stock) is in GLD. Do the Gurus do, don’t do what they say?
In the past, I wrote about the stocks that both Warren Buffett and George Soros own (here, (here, and here ). I took it to myself to document how the stocks owned by both Investment Gurus shift in time. I might do that one day when I get to it. But given the fast ascendance of John Paulson, who made $20 billion in the past crisis and asserted himself in the same league with Warren Buffett and George Soros, it is only fair to ask:
Normally, it will take a while to figure this simple question out. Finding the stock shared by Warren Buffett (who manages a 41 stock portfolio worth $58 billion), John Paulson (55 stocks and $19.5 billion), and George Soros (687 stocks and $7 billion) is not a trivial task.
This is where GuruFocus comes in handy. GuruFocus has a premium member feature that enables one find out the aggregated portfolio of more than one Gurus called…eh, “Aggregated Guru Portfolio”. Applying the tool on Buffett, Soros and Paulson, one gets the following three companies that are owned by all three of them:
All three are banks. Big ones. Surprised?
Here is a brief review:
SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a commercial banking organization. Suntrust Banks Inc. has a market cap of $11.28 billion; its shares were traded at around $22.6 with and P/S ratio of 1.1. The dividend yield of Suntrust Banks Inc. stocks is 0.2%. Suntrust Banks Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 2.3% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson owns 30,380,700 shares as of 12/31/2009, an increase of 1925.38% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 3.16% of the $19.49 billion portfolio of Paulson & Co..
George Soros owns 69,300 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 29.29% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.02% of the $6.95 billion portfolio of Soros Fund Management LLC.
Warren Buffett owns 2,398,206 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 22.13% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.08% of the $57.93 billion portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway.
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance services. Wells Fargo & Company has a market cap of $139.73 billion; its shares were traded at around $27.33 with a P/E ratio of 15 and P/S ratio of 1.4. The dividend yield of Wells Fargo & Company stocks is 0.7%. Wells Fargo & Company had an annual average earning growth of 10.8% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson bought 17,500,000 shares in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2009, which is 2.42% of his portfolio.
George Soros owns 14,400 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 31.75% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.01% of his portfolio.
Warren Buffett owns 320,088,385 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 14.91% of of his portfolio.
Bank of America Corp. is one of the world's financial services companies. Bank Of America Corp. has a market cap of $135.46 billion; its shares were traded at around $15.66 with and P/S ratio of 0.9. The dividend yield of Bank Of America Corp. stocks is 0.3%. Bank Of America Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 7.5% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson owns 151,034,229 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 11.67% of his portfolio.
George Soros owns 338,400 shares as of 12/31/2009, an increase of 24.46% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.07% of his portfolio.
Warren Buffett owns 5,000,000 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 0.13% of his portfolio.
All three of them, Buffett, Paulson, and Soros, coming from different angle, each own some shares in these three banking companies. Buffett has owned these banks for a long time, and the other two are relative new comers. Paulson and Soros also own Citigroup, but I guess that is too much for Buffett.
One thing concerns me a little is Paulson started to trim BAC position. He is the one who said that BAC could be doubled by the end of 2011, and according to this Bloomberg video.
Do what the Gurus do, don't do what they say?
GuruFocus provides real time information and insights of Investment Gurus such as Warren Buffett, John Paulson, and George Soros for Premium Members. If you are not a premium member, click here to sign up or upgrade. 7-Day Free Trial is available.
Two Obvious Trends
One thing the caught investors' attention is the number of gurus bought into Citigroup Inc. (C, Financial). Bloomberg ran an article by Nikolaj Gammeltoft and Whitney Kisling entitled “Citigroup Stock Proving Irresistible to Hedge Funds” today. It pointed out that during the fourth quarter of 2009, Citigroup stock bought by hedge funds outnumbered the amount sold by a ratio of more than 10 to 1 in the October-to- December period, with about 1.2 billion shares added on a net basis. Firms run by John Paulson, Eric Mindich and George Soros purchased almost half a billion shares in Citigroup Inc. Even Bruce Berkowitz, an investment manager who focuses on free cash flow, bought 214.7 million shares valued at $710.7 million. Anyone sees free cash flow from Citigroup yet?
The good thing is Citigroup is traded at price lower than the average 4Q09 price. So if you are convinced what is good for Paulson and Berkowitz, it is good enough for you, you can scoop up shares at prices cheaper than what these gurus paid for.
I secretively wish the investments the Gurus put in Citigroup play out, for selfish reasons: if not, i.e. if Citigroup goes belly-up, we may have to find another group of investment Gurus. Too much work there.
Another thing that people quickly pointed out is that number of Gurus who bought into Gold. GuruFocus columnist Trader Mark pointed out even George Soros, who claimed gold is a bubble, could not help buying into the bubble himself. Here is the list of Gurus that we track who held Spider Gold Shares (GLD, Financial). George Soros stands out as the one who bought most shares. Now almost 10% of his equity portfolio (it is a stretch to call GLD an equity stock) is in GLD. Do the Gurus do, don’t do what they say?
| Guru Name | Current Shares↓ | % of Shares Outstanding | % of Total Assets Managed | Change from Last Holdings |
| John Paulson | 31500000 | 16.54 | 17.34 | 0% |
| George Soros | 6178342 | 3.24 | 9.54 | 152.14% |
| Jean-Marie Eveillard | 2074959 | 1.09 | 2.05 | 8.2% |
| David Winters | 131039 | 0.07 | 2.96 | 0% |
| Wilbur Ross | 31000 | 0.02 | 0.45 | New |
| George Soros | 11000 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0% |
| Richard Snow | 6000 | 0 | 0.02 | -16.67% |
| Kenneth Fisher | 2748 | 0 | 0 | -27.84% |
In the past, I wrote about the stocks that both Warren Buffett and George Soros own (here, (here, and here ). I took it to myself to document how the stocks owned by both Investment Gurus shift in time. I might do that one day when I get to it. But given the fast ascendance of John Paulson, who made $20 billion in the past crisis and asserted himself in the same league with Warren Buffett and George Soros, it is only fair to ask:
What stocks do Buffett, Soros and Paulson own in common?
Normally, it will take a while to figure this simple question out. Finding the stock shared by Warren Buffett (who manages a 41 stock portfolio worth $58 billion), John Paulson (55 stocks and $19.5 billion), and George Soros (687 stocks and $7 billion) is not a trivial task.
This is where GuruFocus comes in handy. GuruFocus has a premium member feature that enables one find out the aggregated portfolio of more than one Gurus called…eh, “Aggregated Guru Portfolio”. Applying the tool on Buffett, Soros and Paulson, one gets the following three companies that are owned by all three of them:
| Symbol | Company | # of Guru Owners ↓ | Gurus Bought Last Quarter | Gurus Sold Last Quarter |
| STI | SunTrust Banks Inc. | 3 | Paulson | Soros, Buffett |
| WFC | Wells Fargo & Company | 3 | Paulson, Buffett | Soros |
| BAC | Bank of America Corp. | 3 | Soros | Paulson |
All three are banks. Big ones. Surprised?
Here is a brief review:
1. SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI, Financial)
SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a commercial banking organization. Suntrust Banks Inc. has a market cap of $11.28 billion; its shares were traded at around $22.6 with and P/S ratio of 1.1. The dividend yield of Suntrust Banks Inc. stocks is 0.2%. Suntrust Banks Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 2.3% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson owns 30,380,700 shares as of 12/31/2009, an increase of 1925.38% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 3.16% of the $19.49 billion portfolio of Paulson & Co..
George Soros owns 69,300 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 29.29% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.02% of the $6.95 billion portfolio of Soros Fund Management LLC.
Warren Buffett owns 2,398,206 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 22.13% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.08% of the $57.93 billion portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway.
2. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC, Financial)
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance services. Wells Fargo & Company has a market cap of $139.73 billion; its shares were traded at around $27.33 with a P/E ratio of 15 and P/S ratio of 1.4. The dividend yield of Wells Fargo & Company stocks is 0.7%. Wells Fargo & Company had an annual average earning growth of 10.8% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson bought 17,500,000 shares in the quarter that ended on 12/31/2009, which is 2.42% of his portfolio.
George Soros owns 14,400 shares as of 12/31/2009, a decrease of 31.75% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.01% of his portfolio.
Warren Buffett owns 320,088,385 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 14.91% of of his portfolio.
3. Bank of America Corp. (BAC, Financial)
Bank of America Corp. is one of the world's financial services companies. Bank Of America Corp. has a market cap of $135.46 billion; its shares were traded at around $15.66 with and P/S ratio of 0.9. The dividend yield of Bank Of America Corp. stocks is 0.3%. Bank Of America Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 7.5% over the past 10 years.
John Paulson owns 151,034,229 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 11.67% of his portfolio.
George Soros owns 338,400 shares as of 12/31/2009, an increase of 24.46% from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.07% of his portfolio.
Warren Buffett owns 5,000,000 shares as of 12/31/2009, which accounts for 0.13% of his portfolio.
Comments and Conclusion
All three of them, Buffett, Paulson, and Soros, coming from different angle, each own some shares in these three banking companies. Buffett has owned these banks for a long time, and the other two are relative new comers. Paulson and Soros also own Citigroup, but I guess that is too much for Buffett.
One thing concerns me a little is Paulson started to trim BAC position. He is the one who said that BAC could be doubled by the end of 2011, and according to this Bloomberg video.
Do what the Gurus do, don't do what they say?
GuruFocus provides real time information and insights of Investment Gurus such as Warren Buffett, John Paulson, and George Soros for Premium Members. If you are not a premium member, click here to sign up or upgrade. 7-Day Free Trial is available.
