John Griffin (Trades, Portfolio)’s Blue Ridge Capital pursues absolute returns in its investments based on fundamental analysis. In 2007, Griffin is said to have made $625 million following a 65% return on the fund.
Griffin’s most significant transaction in the second quarter was his purchase of a 2,315,000-share stake in Danaher Corp. (DHR, Financial), a Washington, D.C.-based conglomerate, for an average price of $85.21 per share. The deal had a 2.23% impact on Griffin’s portfolio.
Danaher has a market cap of $60.46 billion and an enterprise value of $60.29 billion. It has a P/E of 24.3, a Price/Book of 2.5 and a Price/Sales of 3.1. Dodge & Cox, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Danaher in their portfolios.
Griffin acquired a 3,500,000-share stake in Fitbit Inc. (FIT, Financial), a San Francisco-based consumer electronics company, for an average price of $35.11 per share. The purchase had a 1.51% impact on Griffin’s portfolio.
Fitbit has a market cap of $7.23 billion and an enterprise value of $7.01 billion. It has a P/E of 47.6 and a Price/Sales of 5.6. Griffin is Fitbit’s leading shareholder among the gurus, but Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) also have shares in the company.
Griffin purchased a 3,350,000-share stake in TransUnion (TRU, Financial), a credit information and information management services company in Chicago, for an average price of $24.93 per share. The transaction had a 0.95% impact on Griffin’s portfolio.
TransUnion has a market cap of $4.65 billion and an enterprise value of $73.72 million. It has a Price/Sales of 3.2. Griffin’s purchase made him TransUnion’s leading shareholder among the gurus; RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Jana Partners (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of TransUnion in their portfolios.
Smart Property Systems announced on Aug. 28 that it plans to collaborate with TransUnion on a system for screening prospective tenants.
Griffin also bought stakes in Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN, Financial) and Etsy Inc. (ETSY, Financial).
Griffin added to eight existing stakes, the most noteworthy addition being the one he made to Fleetcor Technologies, Inc. (FLT, Financial). Griffin bought 922,000 shares of Fleetcor, a Norcross, Ga.-based business services company, for an average price of $156.72 per share. The deal had a 1.62% impact on Griffin’s portfolio.
Fleetcor has a market cap of $13.92 billion and an enterprise value of $15.39 billion. It has a P/E of 34.7, a Price/Book of 4.8 and a Price/Sales of 9.2. Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), Chase Coleman (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Alan Fournier (Trades, Portfolio), Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Fleetcor in their portfolios.
Griffin also added to his stakes in Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC, Financial), HD Supply Holdings Inc. (HDS, Financial), CDK Global Inc. (CDK, Financial), Post Holdings Inc. (POST, Financial) and LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD, Financial), among others.
Divestitures and reductions
Griffin reduced 10 existing stakes in his portfolio in the second quarter. He reduced his stake in Colfax Corp. (CFX), a Maryland-based company that develops, manufactures, distributes, services and supports fluid-handling systems, by nearly 91%, selling 3,529,880 shares for an average price of $49.19. The sale had a -1.92% impact on his portfolio.
Colfax has a market cap of $4.8 billion and an enterprise value of $6.16 billion. It has a P/E of 18.6, a Price/Book of 1.5 and a Price/Sales of 1.1. Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) and Prem Watsa (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Colfax in their portfolios.
Griffin reduced his stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO), a Massachusetts-based biotechnology product development company, by nearly 40%. Griffin sold 760,000 shares for an average price of $130.43 per share. The transaction had a -1.17% impact on his portfolio.
Thermo Fisher Scientific has a market cap of $50.29 billion and an enterprise value of $63.4 billion. It has a P/E of 25.8, a Price/Book of 2.4 and a Price/Sales of 3.0. Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), Vanguard Health Care Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Signature Select Canadian Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio) and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in their portfolios.
To address heightened concerns that terrorists may acquire nuclear weapons, Thermo Fisher Scientific developed a new line of radiation area monitors.
Griffin’s other reductions were in Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA), E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC), Endo International PLC (ENDP), American International Group Inc. (AIG), Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrances Inc. (ULTA), Allegion PLC (ALLE), MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) and Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN).
Griffin sold out three stakes in his portfolio – American Homes 4 Rent (AMH), American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) – in the second quarter.
Griffin sold his 3,135,300-share stake in American Homes 4 Rent, a California-based single-family home rental company, for an average price of $16.79 per share. The sale had a -0.59% impact on Griffin’s portfolio.
American Homes 4 Rent has a market cap of $3.4 billion and an enterprise value of $4.27 billion. It has a Price/Book of 1.0 and a Price/Sales of 6.6. Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) and John Burbank (Trades, Portfolio) have shres of American Homes 4 Rent in their portfolios.
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