The Wintergreen Fund's Top Positions as of the Third Quarter

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Dec 03, 2013
The Wintergreen Fund recently released its third quarter portfolio holdings. These holdings highlighted 32 stocks, with two of those being new buys over the past quarter, valued at $1.66 billion.

The Wintergreen Fund, managed by David Winters, invests primarily in equity securities of companies in any nation that the Wintergreen team believes are available at market prices less than their value. Winters and his team identify these securities through intense analysis and research with special focus on the relationship of book value to market value, cash flow and multiples of earnings.

The following five companies are the five largest positions in David Winter’s Wintergreen Fund portfolio.



Jardine Matheson Holdings (SGX:J36)

The Singapore-based Jardine Matheson Holdings is Wintergreen’s largest position. The fund maintains 2,343,229 shares, representing 7.7% of the fund’s total holdings and 0.35% of the company’s shares outstanding.

The fund did not alter their position in Jardine Matheson over the past quarter. Over the past five years, Wintergreen has been selling shares of its stake in the company and since then the fund has seen average gains of 72%.

The Wintergreen Fund’s historical holding history of Jardine Matheson:

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Jardine Matheson is today a diversified business group focused principally on Asia. Jardine Matheson Holdings is engaged in the business of cash generating activities and long-term property assets. The Group’s interests include Jardine Pacific, Jardine Motors, Jardine Lloyd Thompson, Hongkong Land, Dairy Farm, Mandarin Oriental, Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Astra International.

Jardine Matheson’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Jardine Matheson reports that the company’s revenue has been in decline over the past year, they have issued $3.6 billion of debt over the past three years, its operating margin is expanding and its dividend yield is near a 3-year high.

The Wintergreen Fund is currently the only guru shareholder of Jardine Matheson.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Jardine Matheson Holdings has a market cap of $34.94 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $52.15 with a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/S ratio of 0.49 and a P/B ratio of 0.80. The dividend yield of Jardine stocks is currently at 2.63%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 30.40% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Jardine Matheson Holdings the business predictability rank of 4-star.

Swatch Group (XSWX:UHR)

The fund’s second largest holding is in Swatch Group where they hold on to 184,025 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 7.1% of the fund’s total portfolio as well as 0.60% of the company’s shares outstanding.

The fund did not alter their position over the past quarter and have not made a change to their holdings since 2009Q2. Over the past five years Wintergreen Fund has seen average gains of 187% on shares bought.

Wintergreen’s historical holding history:

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Swatch Group AG manufactures watches, watch components, jewelry, miniature batteries, LCD displays, and scoreboards. The company produces watches and movements for watches or analog systems.

Swatch Group’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Swatch Group reports that the company’s interest coverage is comfortable, meaning that it holds enough cash to cover all of its debt. The analysis also reports that the company’s revenue has slowed down over the past year, its dividend yield is near a 3-year low, its price is near a 5-year high and its operating margin is expanding.

The Wintergreen Fund is currently the only guru that holds a position in Swatch Group.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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Swatch Group has a market cap of CHF18.35 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around CHF595.00 with a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/S ratio of 3.96 and a P/B ratio of 1.97. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 19.50% over the past ten years.

Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (XSWX:CFR)

The Wintergreen Fund’s third largest position is in Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA where they hold on to 1,038,288 shares of the company’s stock. The fund’s position makes up for 6.3% of their total holdings and 0.20% of the company’s shares outstanding.

The fund has not altered their position in Compagnie Financiere Richemont since 2012Q3 when they added an additional 20,000 shares to their stake. Over the past five years the Wintergreen Fund has seen average gains of 80% on shares bought.

The Wintergreen Fund’s historical holding history:

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Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA is a luxury goods company operating in the following segments: Jewellery Maisons, Specialist Watchmakers and Montblanc Maison.

Financiere Richemont’s historical revenue and net income:

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The top guru shareholders of Compagnie Financiere Richemont:

1. David Herro: 3,978,000 shares, representing 0.76% of the company’s shares outstanding and 1.7% of his total assets managed.

2. Wintergreen Fund: 1,038,288 shares, representing 0.2% of the company’s shares outstanding and 6.3% of their total portfolio.

3. Tweedy Browne Global Value: 388,000 shares, representing 0.07% of the company’s shares outstanding and 0.68% of their total portfolio holdings.

The analysis on Financiere Richemont reports that the company’s inventory has been building up, its dividend yield is near a 5-year high and its price is near a five year high. It also notes that the company has issued CHF218.92 million of debt over the past three years, but its debt level is acceptable.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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Compagnie Financiere Richemont has a market cap of CHF47.87 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around CHF91.70 with a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/S ratio of 4.03 and a P/B ratio of 3.84.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)

The fund’s fourth largest holding is in Berkshire Hathaway where they maintain 911,834 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 6.2% of the fund’s total holdings and 0.04% of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter the Wintergreen Fund reduced their holdings by a slight -1.66%. The fund sold 15,350 shares in the third quarter price range of $111.22 to $118.94, with an estimated average quarterly price of $115.36 per share. The price is currently sitting around the average third quarter price.

The fund’s historical holding history of Berkshire Hathaway:

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Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate holding company owning subsidiaries engaged in a number of business activities, including property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, finance, manufacturing, service and retailing.

Berkshire Hathaway’s historical revenue and earnings growth:

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The analysis on Berkshire Hathaway reports that the company’s price is near a 10-year high, it has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth and its operating margin is expanding.

The top three guru shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway:

1. Bill Gates: 87,039,804 shares, representing 3.72% of the company’s shares outstanding and 50.8% of Gates’ total portfolio.

2. Ken Fisher: 5,136,928 shares, representing 0.22% of the company’s shares outstanding and 1.4% of his total portfolio.

3. Ruane Cunniff: 4,682,107 shares, representing 0.2% of the company’s shares outstanding and 3.2% of his total assets managed.

The analysis on Berkshire Hathaway reports that the company’s price is near a 10-year high, it has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth and its operating margin is expanding.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Berkshire Hathaway has a market cap of $268.1 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $114.71 with a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/S ratio of 1.50 and a P/B ratio of 1.30. Berkshire Hathaway had an annual average earnings growth of 9.10% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Berkshire Hathaway the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.

British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS)

Wintergreen’s fifth largest holding is in British American Tobacco where they maintain 1,834,526 shares of the company’s stock. This holding makes up for 5.9% of Wintergreen’s total portfolio and 0.10% of the company’s shares outstanding.

The fund has not altered their position in British American Tobacco since 2011Q1. Over the past five years the fund has seen average gains of 63% on shares bought.

Wintergreen Fund’s historical holding history:

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British American Tobacco PLC is a holding company which owns, directly or indirectly, investments in the numerous companies constituting the British American Tobacco Group of companies. All subsidiary undertakings are involved in activities directly or indirectly related to the manufacture, distribution or sale of tobacco products.

British American Tobacco’s historical revenue and earnings growth:

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The analysis on British American Tobacco reports that the company’s revenue has declined over the past year, the price is near a 10-year high and its P/B and P/S ratios are trading at historical highs. The analysis also reports that the company’s operating margin is expanding and its Piotroski F-Score is high, indicating a healthy situation for the company.

The top guru shareholders of British American Tobacco:

1. Tom Russo: 4,963,955 shares, representing 0.26% of the company’s shares outstanding and 2.8% of his total portfolio.

2. Wintergreen Fund: 1,834,526 shares representing 0.1% of the company’s shares outstanding and 5.9% of their total portfolio.

3. Tweedy Browne Global Value: 1,325,000 shares representing 0.07% of the company’s shares outstanding and 1.2% of the fund’s total assets managed.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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British American Tobacco PLC has a market cap of ÂŁ60.9 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ÂŁ32.24 with a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/S ratio of 4.06 and a P/B ratio of 8.19. The dividend yield of BATS stock is currently at 4.27%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 10.70% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated British American Tobacco the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.

Check out the Wintergreen Fund’s complete third quarter portfolio here.

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