Elfun Trusts (Trades, Portfolio), part of Boston-based State Street Global Advisors, disclosed in a regulatory portfolio update filing that its top six trades during the first quarter included the closure of its positions in Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW, Financial), Honeywell International Inc. (HON, Financial) and First Republic Bank (FRC, Financial). The fund also entered new holdings in Linde PLC (LIN, Financial), Eaton Corp PLC (ETN, Financial) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD, Financial).
David Carlson stepped down from the fund in 2019, after which William Sandow and Christopher Sierakowski took over as fund managers. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in common and preferred stocks of companies that have the potential to pay dividends in the future.
As of March, the fund’s $2.97 billion equity portfolio contains 40 stocks with a quarterly turnover ratio of 8%. The top four sectors in terms of weight are technology, health care, financial services and communication services, with weights of 27.46%, 16.81%, 12.71% and 10.78%.
Investors should be aware that portfolio updates for mutual funds do not necessarily provide a complete picture of a guru’s holdings. The data is sourced from the quarterly updates on the website of the fund(s) in question. This usually consists of long equity positions in U.S. and foreign stocks. All numbers are as of the quarter’s end only; it is possible the guru may have already made changes to the positions after the quarter ended. However, even this limited data can provide valuable information.
Charles Schwab
The fund sold all 829,400 of its shares of Charles Schwab (SCHW, Financial), trimming 2.40% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Charles Schwab averaged $73.23 during the first quarter; the stock is significantly undervalued based on its price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.63 as of Wednesday.
The Westlake, Texas-based brokerage and wealth management company has a GF Score of 80 out of 100 based on a GF Value rank of 10 out of 10, a growth rank of 9 out of 10, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10 and a momentum rank of 2 out of 10.
Charles Schwab’s positive investing signs include a five-star business predictability rank and a return on equity that outperforms approximately 82% of global competitors.
Honeywell
The fund sold all 311,400 shares of its stake in Honeywell (HON, Financial), trimming 2.32% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Honeywell averaged $199.49 during the first quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.92 as of Wednesday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based aerospace and industrial products company has a GF Score of 80 out of 100 based on a rank of 8 out of 10 for momentum and profitability, a growth rank of 4 out of 10, and a rank of 6 out of 10 for financial strength and GF Value.
Honeywell’s high profitability rank is driven by several positive investing signs, which include a return on equity that outperforms approximately 88% of global competitors and an operating margin that has increased by approximately 3% per year on average over the past five years.
First Republic Bank
The fund dissolved its holding of 509,700 shares in First Republic Bank (FRC, Financial), reducing its equity portfolio by 2.16%.
It seems this was quite the timely sale, as First Repulic Bank ended up failing after the quarter ended. On April 30, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, Financial) acquired the embattled California-based bank after regulators seized control of First Republic’s assets and deposits. Shares of First Republic stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Linde
The fund purchased 199,300 shares of Linde (LIN, Financial), giving the position 2.39% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $334.89 during the first quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF-Value ratio of 1.08 as of Wednesday.
The Danbury, Connecticut-based industrial gas supply company has a GF Score of 85 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 9 out of 10, a rank of 8 out of 10 for profitability and growth, a financial strength rank of 7 out of 10 and a GF Value rank of 3 out of 10.
Linde’s high profitability rank is driven by several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 8 out of 9 and a gross profit margin that has increased by approximately 0.3% per year on average over the past five years and is outperforming more than 86% of global competitors.
Eaton Corp
The fund invested in 379,300 shares of Eaton Corp. (ETN, Financial), giving the position 2.19% equity portfolio weight. Shares averaged $166.47 during the first quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF-Value ratio of 1.09 as of Wednesday.
The Irish power management company has a GF Score of 75 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 9 out of 10, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 6 out of 10, a growth rank of 4 out of 10 and a GF Value rank of 3 out of 10.
Pioneer Natural Resources
The fund invested in 245,000 shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD, Financial), giving the position 1.69% equity portfolio weight.
Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources averaged $214.93 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.87 as of Wednesday.
The Irving, Texas-based energy exploration and production company has a GF Score of 86 out of 100 based on a growth rank of 9 out of 10, a profitability rank of 8 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 7 out of 10, a GF Value rank of 5 out of 10 and a momentum rank of 4 out of 10.
Pioneer Natural Resources’ high profitability rank is driven by several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 out of 9 and an operating margin that has increased by approximately 18.8% per year on average over the past five years and is outperforming approximately 82% of global competitors.
