As year's end draws near, it is time to see which stocks the
nation's best investors have gravitated towards in buying trend
throughout the year. According to
GuruFocus' All-in-One Screener
results, the following stocks accumulated the most trades by
Gurus this year. The chart below shows how many of the stocks
were traded by the investors that GuruFocus follows, as well as
how many Gurus actually kept the stocks in their current holdings
up until now.
|
Stock Symbol
|
Company
|
# of Guru Trades in the Last Year
|
# of Guru Current Holdings
|
| MSFT |
Microsoft Corp. |
54 |
54 |
| AAPL |
Apple Inc. |
54 |
48 |
| GOOG |
Google Inc. |
48 |
44 |
| WFC |
Wells Fargo & Co. |
47 |
43 |
| JPM |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. |
47 |
43 |
| BAC |
Bank of America Corp. |
47 |
42 |
| C |
Citigroup Inc. |
45 |
42 |
| XOM |
Exxon Mobil Corp. |
45 |
44 |
| JNJ |
Johnson & Johnson |
44 |
43 |
| PFE |
Pfizer Inc. |
43 |
39 |
Microsoft Corp. (
MSFT
)
Microsoft appears to be an investor favorite this year. The Gurus
who currently own the most Microsoft shares are
Dodge & Cox
, with 61 million shares making up 2.4 percent of its portfolio;
PRIMECAP Management
with 60 million shares making up 2.9 percent of its portfolio;
and
Jeremy Grantham
with 48 million shares, making up 4.2 percent of his portfolio.
Year to date, Microsoft has delivered a 5.05 percent gain. It is
trading at $27.34, down 0.29 percent this morning. Its peak price
was in March at $32 and its lowest was in November at $26.
What Gurus Are Saying About Microsoft:
"Software company Microsoft Corp. (
MSFT
) continued to produce modest operating income growth and
attractive cash generation. However, the stock declined slightly
during the quarter as investors remained focused on the company's
release of Windows 8 in October and whether the company can
generate any momentum in mobile devices."
-From Diamond Hill Capital's third quarter Select Fund Commentary
Apple Inc. (
AAPL
)
The Gurus who currently own the most Apple shares are Frank Sands
with 3.6 million shares, his top holding making up 9.9 percent of
his portfolio; Jeremy Grantham with 1.9 million shares making up
3.7 percent of his portfolio; and Tiger Global Management, its
top holding with 1.3 million shares, which is 12.2 percent of its
portfolio.
Year to date, Apple has produced a 33.45 percent value growth.
Its highest price this year was in September at $702. Its lowest
was in January at $413. It is currently trading at $542.04, with
its stock down 0.09 percent around noontime.
What Gurus Are Saying About Apple:
"
Before the end of the quarter, we finally sold Apple, Inc. (
AAPL
), one of the Fund's most successful investments since inception.
This was a tough judgment call that has worked out well, at least
on a short-term basis. Our reasons included concerns about the
ultimate market cap the market would allow the company to
achieve, rising competition from Android devices, the release of
the iPhone 5 with a sub-par mapping application and concerns
about the ability of the company to hold together its management
team in the post-Steve Jobs era (a concern that was validated
when the company announced management changes)."
-From Baron Funds' Third Quarter Letter
Google Inc. (
GOOG
)
Gurus who own the most Google shares are PRIMECAP Management with
3.2 million shares which is 4 percent of its portfolio; Chris
Davis with 2.8 million shares which is 5.1 percent of his
portfolio; and Frank Sands with 2.4 million shares which is 7.7
percent of his portfolio.
Year to date, Google has had a value gain of 7.92 percent. It
traded the highest in October at $766, and the lowest in June at
$558. Its stock is currently up 0.21 percent today, trading at
$699.
What Gurus are Saying About Apple:
"You might be surprised to know that we began building a
position in Google (
GOOG
) back in February of this year when the stock dipped down to
around $565 per share. At this price, we felt we were getting a
bargain...And this was for a business that grows its top line at
greater than 20% per year...It is reasonable to conclude that
Google has a strong competitive position. Google's revenue is
roughly 15 times higher than its nearest competitor, which has
enabled them to put significantly more money into R&D,
distribution, and the development of products and eco-systems
that further promote and protect the use of Google's
search."
-From Tweedy, Browne's Investment Advisor's Letter and
Semi-Annual Report
"
Google (
GOOG
) contributed to the portfolio's relative outperformance, after
the stock appreciated 30% during the Quarter. We believe this was
a relief rally, as much as it was the stock catching up to the
Company's torrid growth from the past few years. Much of the
relief had to do with Google's strategy for newly acquired
Motorola Mobility. While the Company has been light on specifics,
rumors emerged that Google would sell the commodity feature-phone
and set-top box units of Motorola by year-end, in order to focus
exclusively on Android smartphones. We think a more focused
Motorola is a good strategy that could drive increased adoption
of Android-based smartphones, which ultimately drives Google's
rapidly growing mobile advertising business. As the stock's
forward price to earnings multiple expanded back to
double-digits, we trimmed positions. The Company's competitive
edge is still very robust and we continue to think the stock is
cheap, especially relative to its potential growth rate."
-From Wedgewood Partners' Third Quarter 2012 Review and Outlook
Wells Fargo & Co. (
WFC
)
Gurus who own the most shares of Wells Fargo are Warren Buffett
with 422 million shares of the company representing 19.4 percent;
Dodge & Cox with 81 million shares representing 3.7 percent
of the firm's portfolio; and Chris Davis with 79 million shares
representing 6.5 percent of his firm's portfolio.
Year to date, Wells Fargo has experienced a 20.79 percent value
gain. It traded the highest in September at $36. It traded the
lowest in January at $28. Currently the stock is up $1.53
percent, at the price of $33.82
What Gurus are Saying About Wells Fargo:
"I actually bought Wells Fargo instead of JPMorgan. My best
ideas are all in Berkshire Hathaway, I can promise you. We have
400 million shares of Wells Fargo in Berkshire Hathaway and I
like JPMorgan too, but Wells Fargo is easier to understand, we
bought Wells Fargo in the first quarter, we bought it last year
and a lot of years before. If I wasn't managing Berkshire
Hathaway, and I was sitting on my own money, I would put a lot of
money in Wells Fargo and some in JPMorgan too."
-From Warren Buffett, in Berkshire Hathaway's 2012 Shareholder
Meeting
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (
JPM
)
Gurus who own the most shares of JPMorgan Chase are James Barrow
with 29 million shares which is 2.4 percent of his firm's
portfolio; Hotchkis & Wiley with 14 million shares
representing 3.5 percent of its portfolio; and Brian Rogers with
14 million shares representing 2.5 percent of T. Rowe Price's
portfolio.
Year to date, JPMorgan Chase delivered a 28.24 percent value
gain. Its stock sold the highest in March at $46, and sold the
lowest in June at $31. The stock is up 1.69 percent today,
trading at $43.34.
What Gurus Are Saying About JPMorgan Chase:
"Banking and financial service company JPMorgan Chase &
Co. (
JPM
) was a strong performer during the quarter as the financials
sector led the market higher and investors became more
comfortable that JPMorgan has addressed its earlier trading
issues. Overall, the company continued to demonstrate very strong
underlying performance across most of its key businesses, while
capital levels remained very healthy."
-From Diamond Hill Capital's Third Quarter Large Cap Fund
Commentary
Bank of America Corp. (
BAC
)
Gurus who own the most shares of Bank of America are Dodge &
Cox with 133 million shares which is 1.5 percent of the firm's
portfolio; Bruce Berkowitz with 102 million shares which is 12.9
percent of his portfolio; and James Barrow with 69 million shares
which is 1.2 percent of his portfolio.
Year to date, Bank of America's price has increased by 89.03
percent. It trades near its one-year high at $10.66. It traded
the lowest in January around $5.56. Bank of America stock is up
1.19 percent for today's trading.
What Gurus Are Saying About Bank of America:
"
Bank of America (
BAC
) is the Fund's next largest financial holding (9% of the Fund)
affected by the great housing price collapse. The company's
reported book value is over $20 per share. We believe that
America's bank is returning to its retail roots (think of Wells
Fargo) with a $1 trillion deposit franchise and that bank profits
will skyrocket as legacy real estate loans burn-off."
-From Bruce Berkowitz's Second Quarter Shareholder Letter
"Our best performing stock for the quarter was Bank of
America, up 72%. Last year was difficult for bank stocks,
especially Bank of America (
BAC
), but much of that reversed in the past quarter as banks now
appear adequately capitalized and many are able to return more
capital to shareholders."
-From Oakmark Fund's First Quarter Shareholder Letter
Citigroup Inc. (
C
)
Gurus who own the most shares of Citigroup are James Barrow with
19 million shares which is 1.3 percent of his portfolio; Hotchkis
& Wiley with 17 million shares which is 3.3 percent of the
firm's portfolio; and NWQ Investment Managers with 13 million
shares which is 3.1 percent of the firm's portfolio.
Year to date, Citigroup has gained 40.63 percent in value. It
traded its highest in November at $38.47, and traded its lowest
in June around $25. Its stock is up 1.63 percent today, at the
price of $37.71.
What Gurus are Saying About Citigroup:
"We have believed for some time that Citi is a
well-capitalized financial institution trading at a substantial
discount to intrinsic value. We have also believed that Citi's
ability to return capital to shareholders principally through
share repurchases will be an important catalyst for value
recognition by shareholders...Citi remains extremely cheap
relative to our estimate of intrinsic value - it trades at less
than 60% of tangible book value, about six times last year's
underlying earnings per share and about four times normalized
earnings per share after giving credit to its net tax assets and
excess capital.
The intrinsic value of Citi has increased meaningfully over the
course of our ownership of the bank while the stock price has
declined substantially. We believe that the continued generation
of profits and increase in growth of tangible book value will
ultimately cause investors to revalue the bank at prices
approaching its intrinsic value."
-From Bill Ackman's First Quarter Shareholder Letter
"We also initiated a position in banking and financial services
company Citigroup, Inc. (C) as we gained confidence in the
company's financial condition. Citigroup has addressed credit
quality and weak capital issues, which should allow it to rapidly
wind down its troubled asset portfolio. We also expect Citigroup
to re-establish its capital return program through dividend
increases and share repurchases which should benefit
shareholders."
-From Diamond Hill Capital's Third Quarter Large Cap Fund
Commentary
Exxon Mobil Corp. (
XOM
)
Gurus who own the most shares of Exxon are Bill Gates with 7.6
million shares, Brian Rogers with 6 million shares and Ken Fisher
with 4.7 million shares.
Year to date, Exxon has surged 4.81 percent in value. It traded
its highest in October at $93 and traded its lowest in June at
$77. Currently, the stock is up 1.28 percent, trading at $90.14.
What Gurus Are Saying About Exxon:
"Exxon Mobil (XOM, 87)
has lagged the market all year on fears of limited upside
with many of the world's untapped resources owned by crazy
governments (sorry for the redundancy) and downside with
consensus calls for falling prices that will squeeze margins.
This oil supermajor sells at 80% of annual revenues and less than
ten times 2012 earnings. As the world's dominant energy producer
and marketer, Exxon should be just fine, and the stock should
improve, too. While the dividend yield is only 2.6%, note that it
pays out only about 20% of earnings and has room to give back
more."
-From Ken Fisher's Forbes Column, titled Five Big Stocks for a
Late-State Bull Market
Johnson & Johnson (
JNJ
)
Gurus who own the most shares of Johnson & Johnson are Jeremy
Grantham at 25 million shares, James Barrow at 16 million shares
and PRIMECAP Management at 14 million shares.
Year to date, Johnson & Johnson has surged 8.42 percent in
value. It traded the highest in October at $72 and traded the
lowest in June at $61. Today, its stock is up 0.25 percent, and
trades at the price of $71.28.
What Gurus Are Saying About Johnson & Johnson:
"Poor execution on the part of JNJ and P&G this past year
provided attractive entry price points for both stocks. Each
company owns a plethora of leading brands that if spun off could
provide tremendous returns for shareholders. Over 80% of
acquisitions destroy shareholder value; spinoffs have had a much
better record of outperforming the averages within 24
months..."
"Johnson and Johnson suffers from a lack of quality control
in many of their products. These are fixable, and again the
tremendous lineup of leading brands offers investors good
potential with spinoffs."
-From Jeff Auxier in an interview with GuruFocus
"They have some wonderful products and a wonderful balance
sheet, but too many mistakes have been made at Johnson &
Johnson. Clearly, they have not lived up to their
standards."
-From Warren Buffett in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box
Pfizer Inc. (
PFE
)
Gurus that own that most shares of Pfizer include Dodge & Cox
with 74 million shares, Jeremy Grantham with 60 million shares
and James Barrow with 59 million shares.
Year to date, Pfizer's price gained 18.48 percent in value. The
highest the stock sold for this year was in October at $26 and
sold the lowest in February at around $20. Pfizer stock is up
0.21 percent today, trading at $25.70.
What Gurus Are Saying About Pfizer:
"Pfizer
is the world's largest drug firm with a stunning A-Z array of
big brand names like Advil and Viagra-and fits the
high-consistency-of-earnings-growth theme perfectly. It continues
to pump out new products. The latest: Bosulif, a daily pill to
fight a rare form of blood and bone marrow cancer. It sells at
ten times my 2013 earnings estimate with a 3.6% dividend
yield."
From Ken Fisher's Forbes column, titled Too Big to Fail Stocks
Close Calls, But Still Hot Picks
The stocks below were close in making it to the top 10, but they
still swelled with trade activity throughout the year.
� American International Group Inc. (AIG)
� Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
� Intel Corp. (INTC)
� Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B)
� Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)
� Oracle Corp. (ORCL)
� MasterCard Incorporated (MA)
� Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK)
� Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
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