Chuck Akre Buys Moody's and Dollar General, Sells MasterCard

GuruFocus.com
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- By Tiziano Frateschi

Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio) is the founder of Akre Capital Management LLC. During the fourth quarter the guru traded shares in the following stocks:


The investor bought 1.5 million shares in Dollar General Corp. (DG) with an impact of 2.04% on the portfolio.

The company is a discount retailer in the U.S., offering a selection of merchandise including consumables, seasonal, home products and apparel.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The return on equity (ROE) of 23.21% and return on assets (ROA) of 0.74% are outperforming 88% of the companies in the Global Discount Stores industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.06 is far below the industry median of 0.50.

The largest shareholder among the gurus is Akre with 0.54% of outstanding shares followed by Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.37%, Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.13%, Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. with 0.08% and Mario Cibelli (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04%.

The guru bought an 815,996-share position in SBA Communications Corp. (SBAC) with an impact of 1.14% on the portfolio.

It is an independent owner and operator of wireless communications tower structures, rooftops and other structures that support antennae for communication. Its business segments are site leasing and site development.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 10 out of 10. While the ROA of 1.02% is underperforming the sector, the ROC of 14.50% is outperforming 52% of the companies in the Global Telecom Services industry. Financial strength has a rating of 3 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.02 is below the industry median of 0.38.

Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio) is the largest shareholder among the gurus with 1.43% of outstanding shares followed by Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.24%, Manning & Napier Advisors with 0.12%, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.07%, Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04% and John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.01%.

Akre raised his stake in Moody's Corp. (MCO) by 15.37%. The trade had an impact of 1.07% on the portfolio.

The company provides credit ratings, credit and economic-related research, data and analytical tools, software solutions and related risk management services, quantitative credit risk measures, financial services training and certification services.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The ROA of 5.21% and ROC of 221.54% are outperforming 77% of the companies in the Global Capital Markets industry. Financial strength has a rating of 5 out of 10 with a cash-debt ratio of 0.66.

The largest shareholder among the gurus is Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) with 12.91% of outstanding shares followed by Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.28%, Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.15%, Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.1% and MS Global Franchise Fund (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.04%.

The guru reduced his holding in Colfax Corp. (CFX) by 22.95%. The transaction had an impact of -0.84% on the portfolio.

The company provides gas- and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products and services to commercial and governmental customers around the world.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10. The ROE of 4.28% and ROA of 1.94% are underperforming 60% of the companies in the Global Diversified Industrials industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.17 is below the industry median of 1.04.

Diamond Hill Capital is another shareholder among the gurus with 2.25% of outstanding shares followed by Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio) with 1.56%, Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss with 1.54%, Gayner with 0.92%, Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.67% and Pioneer Investments with 0.67%.

The guru raised his shares in American Tower Corp. (AMT) by 6.36% with an impact of 0.78% on the portfolio.

It is an owner, operator and developer of wireless and broadcast communications real estate. The company's main business is leasing antenna space on multitenant communications sites to different providers.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10. The ROE of 12.55% and ROA of 3.27% are outperforming 58% of the companies in the Global Telecom Services industry. Financial strength has a rating of 4 out of 10 with cash to debt of 0.04 that is below the industry median of 0.38.

Another notable shareholder among the gurus is Spiros Segalas (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.71% of outstanding shares followed by Simons with 0.2%, David Carlson (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.16%, Baron with 0.1% and Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.02%.

The investor increased his holding of Danaher Corp. (DHR) by 10.35% with an impact of 0.22% on the portfolio.

The company designs, manufactures and markets professional, medical, industrial and commercial products. Its business consists of five segments: Test and Measurement; Environmental; Life Sciences and Diagnostics; Dental and Industrial Technologies.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 5 out of 10. The ROE of 10.69% and ROA of 5.44% are outperforming 72% of the companies in the Global Diagnostics & Research industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.08 is below the industry median of 2.86.

The largest shareholder among the gurus is Dodge & Cox with 0.75% of outstanding shares followed by Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.47%, First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.46%, John Griffin (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.25%, Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.25%, Simons with 0.22% and Cohen with 0.1%.

The guru reduced his position in Markel Corp. (MKL) by 0.19% with an impact of -0.02% on the portfolio.

The company markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. It underwrites a diverse property, casualty, marine and energy, professional liability, Workers' Compensation and aviation insurance and reinsurance business insurance.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 7 out of 10. The ROE of 5.35% and ROA of 31.76% are underperforming 70% of the companies in the Global Insurance - Property & Casualty industry. Financial strength has a rating of 6 out of 10 and a cash to debt of 0.68 is below industry media of 2.19.

Another notable shareholder among the gurus is Davis with 1.95% of outstanding shares followed by Simons with 0.95%, Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.16% and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.14%.

The investor reduced his stake MasterCard Inc. Class A (MA) by 0.12%. The trade had an impact of -0.01% on the portfolio.

It is a technology company in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment instead of cash and checks.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 9 out of 10. The ROE of 69.46% and ROA of 24.04% are outperforming 96% of the companies in the Global Credit Services industry. Financial strength has a rating of 7 out of 10 with a cash-debt ratio of 1.61.

The largest shareholder of the company among the gurus is Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.89% of outstanding shares followed by Segalas with 0.6%, Simons with 0.52%, Buffett with 0.46%, Ruane Cunniff with 0.46%, Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.4% and Manning & Napier Advisors with 0.06%.

Disclosure: I do not own any shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


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