Since his founding of Elliott Management in 1977, Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) has experienced only two down years, primarily because losses in the early years of his investing career made him disinclined to take substantial risks. Even so, he has a reputation as an activist when it comes to underperforming companies, which makes his quarterly purchases of special interest, and some of his second-quarter acquisitions were considerable.
Singer’s most noteworthy new buy of the second quarter was his purchase of a 1,940,642-share stake in Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, Financial), a Philadelphia-based mass media company, for an average price of $58.68 per share. The transaction had a 1.65% impact on Singer’s portfolio.
Comcast has a market cap of $143.82 billion and an enterprise value of $189.05 billion. It has a P/E of 17.0, a P/B of 2.8 and a P/S of 2.1.
Dodge & Cox, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio), Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), HOTCHKIS & WILEY, Robert Olstein (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), John Buckingham (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Kahn Brothers (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Glenn Greenberg (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) and Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Comcast in their portfolios.
A judge in Philadelphia approved a $50 million settlement today in an antitrust class action case involving Comcast. The agreement requires Comcast to pay $33.3 million in credits to current and former customers in the Philadelphia area. The balance is to establish a fund to cover the legal fees of former customers.
Singer purchased a 1,475,000-share stake in Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS, Financial), a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based software company, for an average price of $66.69 per share. The deal had a 1.46% impact on Singer’s portfolio.
Citrix has a market cap of $11.7 billion and an enterprise value of $12.13 billion. It has a P/E of 43.0, a P/B of 5.3 and a P/S of 3.7.
With the purchase, Singer became Citrix’s leading shareholder among the gurus. Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Meridian Funds (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Dodge & Cox also have shares of Citrix in their portfolios.
Singer bought an 860,570-share stake in Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY, Financial), an Irish airline, for an average price of $67.7 per share. The purchase had a 0.87% impact on Singer’s portfolio.
Ryanair has a market cap of $21.64 billion and an enterprise value of $21.06 billion. It has a P/E of 20.1, a P/B of 4.5 and a P/S of 3.5. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio), John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio), Francis Chou (Trades, Portfolio) and Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Ryanair in their portfolios.
Because it has been unable to acquire the long-haul aircraft it needs for such a service, Ryanair’s chairman disclosed Thursday that the company is dropping its plans to start a low-cost transatlantic carrier.
Singer invested in a 476,800-share stake in Vanguard Long Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCLT, Financial), paying an average price of $88.95 per share. The transaction had a 0.57% impact on Singer’s portfolio.
For an average price of $64.48 per share, Singer acquired a 7,500,000-share stake in VeriSign Inc. (VRSN, Financial), a Reston, Va.-based Internet and communications company. The purchase had a 0.2% impact on Singer’s portfolio.
VeriSign has a market cap of $7.94 billion and an enterprise value of $7.91 billion. It has a P/E of 27.6 and a P/S of 9.2. Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Columbia Wanger (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of VeriSign in their portfolios.
Singer also purchased stakes in iShares IBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp. Bd. Fd. (LQD, Financial), Carnival Corp. (CCL, Financial), Office Depot Inc. (ODP, Financial), Noble Energy Inc. (NBL, Financial), American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC, Financial) and Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCK) in the second quarter.
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