Investment firm Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) disclosed its portfolio updates for the first quarter of the year in May.
The New York-based firm, which has been operating for a century, is an investment partnership that is owned and operated by its team of managing directors. Deriving its investment approach from the work of Benjamin Graham, the firm oversees around $8.89 billion in assets through four unique mutual funds. Each of the portfolios is managed according to the same value principles with an emphasis on seeking undervalued stocks.
For the three months ended March 31, 13F filings show the firm did not enter any new positions, sold out of one stock and added to or trimmed a number of other existing investments. Notable trades included increased bets on Truist Financial Corp. (TFC, Financial) and Autoliv Inc. (ALV, Financial), reduced holdings of Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, Financial) and Unilever PLC (UL, Financial) and the divestment of Fox Corp. (FOX, Financial).
Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.
Truist Financial
The firm increased its Truist Financial (TFC, Financial) position by 168.81%, investing in 572,592 shares. The transaction had an impact of 1.06% on the equity portfolio. The stock traded for an average price of $43.65 per share during the quarter.
It now holds 911,791 shares in total, which occupy 1.69% of the equity portfolio. GuruFocus estimates the firm has lost 12.44% on the investment so far.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank holding company has a $43.70 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $32.81 on Tuesday with a price-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-book ratio of 0.78 and a price-sales ratio of 1.85.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is significantly undervalued currently based on its historical ratios, past financial performance and analysts’ future earnings projections.
At 63 out of 100, the GF Score indicates the company has poor performance potential. Although it raked in a high value rank and moderate profitability and growth ratings, financial strength and momentum were low.
Of the gurus invested in Truist, Dodge & Cox has the largest stake with 1.53% of its outstanding shares. Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies, Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) and several others also own the stock.
Autoliv
Tweedy, Browne boosted its Autoliv (ALV, Financial) stake by 7.09%, picking up 70,957 shares. The transaction impacted the equity portfolio by 0.36%. Shares traded for an average price of $85.16 each during the quarter.
The firm now holds 1.07 million shares in total, which account for 5.45% of the equity portfolio as the seventh-largest holding. GuruFocus data shows it has gained 19.76% on the investment to date.
The Swedish manufacturer of automotive safety systems like airbags, seatbelts and steering wheels has a market cap of $7.41 billion; its shares were trading around $86.35 on Tuesday with a price-earnings ratio of 18.07, a price-book ratio of 2.82 and a price-sales ratio of 0.80.
According to the GF Value Line, the stock is modestly undervalued currently.
The GF Score of 76 implies the company is likely to have average performance going forward on the back of high profitability and momentum ratings, moderate marks for financial strength and value and a low growth rank.
With a 1.25% stake, the firm is Autoliv’s largest guru shareholder. Other top guru investors include Simons’ firm, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Cohen, Keeley-Teton Advisors, LLC (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio)’s Bridgewater Associates and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio).
Alphabet
The firm slashed its investment in Alphabet’s (GOOG, Financial) Class C stock by 59.21%, dumping 872,869 shares. The transaction had an impact of -4.13% on the equity portfolio. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average per-share price of $96.56.
Tweedy, Browne now holds 601,351 shares, which represents its eighth-largest position with a weight of 3.40%. GuruFocus says the firm has gained an estimated 274.31% on the long-held investment.
The communications services company headquartered in Mountain View, California, which owns the Google search engine, YouTube and a number of other businesses, has a $1.62 trillion market cap; its Class C shares were trading around $127.75 on Tuesday with a price-earnings ratio of 28.45, a price-book ratio of 6.20 and a price-sales ratio of 5.82.
Based on the GF Value Line, the stock appears to be modestly undervalued currently.
The GF Score of 99 means the company has high outperformance potential, driven by solid ratings for all five criteria.
Dodge & Cox is the largest guru shareholder of Alphabet’s Class C stock with 0.34% of its outstanding shares. The stock is also being held by PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio), Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) and many other gurus.
Unilever
The investment firm curbed its Unilever (UL, Financial) holding by 24.32%, shedding 104,969 shares. The equity portfolio was impacted -0.28% by the transaction. The stock traded for an average price of $50.50 per share during the quarter.
It now holds 326,566 shares in total, making up 0.92% of the equity portfolio. GuruFocus found the firm has gained around 17.47% on the investment.
The British manufacturer of consumer packaged goods, which range from Dove soap to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Knorr pre-packaged meals, has a market cap of $126.13 billion; its shares were trading around $50.12 on Tuesday with a price-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-book ratio of 6.20 and a price-sales ratio of 1.99.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is modestly undervalued currently.
Due to the GF Score of 88, the company has good outperformance potential. Receiving high ratings for four of the criteria, the financial strength rank was more moderate.
Holding 0.33% of the company’s outstanding shares, Fisher has the largest stake. Unilever is also being held by Hotchkis & Wiley, Russo, Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle, Yacktman Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio) and several other gurus.
Fox
Impacting the equity portfolio by -0.79%, Tweedy, Browne exited its 522,860-share position in Fox (FOX, Financial). During the quarter, shares traded for an average price of $31.34 each.
GuruFocus estimates the firm lost 6.15% on the investment over its lifetime.
The New York-based mass media company has a $15.90 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $30.37 on Tuesday with a price-earnings ratio of 14.26, a price-book ratio of 1.62 and a price-sales ratio of 1.17.
According to the GF Value Line, the stock is modestly undervalued currently.
Supported by high ratings for four of the criteria as well as a more moderate financial strength rank, the GF Score is 87. This indicates the company has good outperformance potential.
Dodge & Cox is Fox’s largest guru shareholder with a 2.18% stake. Yacktman Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio)’s two funds and Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) also have significant positions in the stock.
Additional trades and portfolio performance
During the quarter, the firm also added to its Bank of America Corp. (BAC, Financial) position, but cut back on a number of other investments, including Intel Corp. (INTC, Financial), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, Financial), AutoZone Inc. (AZO, Financial) and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial).
Nearly half of Tweedy, Browne's $1.84 billion equity portfolio, which is composed of 44 stocks, is invested in the financial services and health care sectors.
According to GuruFocus data, the Value Fund returned -5.67% in 2022, outperforming the -18.11% return of the S&P 500.
