Bill Gates' Foundation Sells Berkshire, Buys 2 Funds
Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio)' Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust traded shares of the following stocks during the fourth quarter of 2019.
Berkshire Hathaway
The foundation reduced its Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) position by 9.11%. The portfolio was impacted by -4.90%.
During the 4th quarter, 17 gurus reduced their positions in Berkshire while 11 bought shares of the company.
Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s holding company has a market cap of $491.95 billion and an enterprise value of $470.45 billion.
GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. While the return on equity of 21.17% is underperforming the sector, return on assets of 10.68% is outperforming 71% of companies in the travel insurance, diversified industry. Its financial strength is rated 4 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.62 is below the industry median of 2.82.
The largest guru shareholder of the company is Gates with 2.19% of outstanding shares, followed by Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio)'s Pershing Square Capital Management with 0.18% and Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.10%.
Templeton Dragon Fund
The investor entered a new position in Templeton Dragon Fund Inc. (TDF). With 1.7 million shares, the portfolio was impacted by 0.16%.
During the 4th quarter, Gates became the only guru shareholder of the company.
The fund has a market cap and enterprise value of $612 million.
The return on equity of 21.92% is far above the industry median of 4.08% and the return on assets of 21.87% is above the industry's average return of 1.81%.
Beyond Meat
Gates' foundation exited its Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) position, impacting the portfolio by -0.07%.
During the 4th quarter, three gurus reduced their positions in Beyond Meat, while just one (Philippe Laffont (Trades, Portfolio)) bought shares of the company.
The provider of plant-based "fake meat" products has a market cap of $5.35 billion and enterprise value of $5.07 billion.
GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 1 out of 10. The return on equity of -17.85% and return on assets of -7.95% are underperforming 90% of companies in the consumer-packaged goods industry. Its financial strength is rated 7 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 10.1 is above the industry median of 0.39.
The largest guru shareholder of the company is Laffont with 0.56% of outstanding shares, followed by Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio)'s Point72 Asset Management which owns a small stake of 100 shares.
China Fund
The investor's firm bought 535.340 shares of China Fund Inc. (CHN). The trade had an impact of 0.05% on the portfolio.
The investment company has a market cap and enterprise value of $209.65 million.
Cornerstone Building Brands
The investor exited its Cornerstone Building Brands (CNR) position.
During the 4th quarter, three gurus reduced their positions in the company.
The company provides solutions for the residential and commercial industry. It has a market cap of $894 million and an enterprise value of $4.39 billion.
GuruFocus gives the company a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. The return on equity of 1.4% and return on assets of 0.27% are underperforming 74% of companies in the construction industry. Its financial strength is rated 3 out of 10. The cash-debt ratio of 0.03 underperforms 93% of competitors.
Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies is the largest guru shareholder of the company with 1.82% of outstanding shares, followed by PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.27% and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.20%.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks mentioned.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
