Dodge & Cox Acquires Stake in Priceline

Aug 21, 2015

Founded 85 years ago, San Francisco-based mutual fund company Dodge & Cox examines investment opportunities with a team research approach, then an investment policy committee makes the decision whether to invest. Recent returns have been impressive – 10.43% last year, 40.55% in 2013 and 22.01% in 2012.

Dodge & Cox made only one new buy in the second quarter, but it was the firm’s most noteworthy transaction. Dodge & Cox invested in a 680,765-share stake in Priceline Group Inc. (PCLN, Financial), a Connecticut-based provider of travel and related services, for an average price of $1,192.39 per share. The deal had a 0.71% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Dodge & Cox added to 30 existing stakes in the second quarter. Most of the additions were modest, but a few were significant.

The firm purchased 27,930,100 shares of EMC Corp. (EMC, Financial), a Massachusetts-based data storage company, for an average price of $26.65 per share. The acquisition, which had a 0.67% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio, increased the size of the stake by more than 63%.

Dodge & Cox also made large additions to its existing stakes in Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (PBR.A, Financial) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO, Financial).

Dodge & Cox purchased 57,581,103 shares of Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras, a Brazilian oil and gas company, for an average price of $8.33 per share, raising the stake by more than 75%. The deal had a 0.42% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Petroleo Brasileiro has a market cap of $31.37 billion and an enterprise value of $147.69 billion. It has a Price/Book of 0.4 and a Price/Sales of 0.3. Dodge & Cox is also the top Petroleo Brasileiro shareholder among the gurus, but Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio) and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) also have shares of Petroleo Brasileiro in their portfolios.

Dodge & Cox bought 15,434,400 shares of Cisco Systems, a San Francisco-based networking equipment company, for an average price of $28.66 per share. The purchase raised the stake by nearly 54% and had a 0.38% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Reductions and divestitures

Dodge & Cox reduced more than 100 existing stakes. The most noteworthy was its sale of nearly half its stake in GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, Financial), a London-based pharmaceutical company. Dodge & Cox sold 10,959,55 shares for an average price of $45.06 per share. The transaction had a -0.47% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Dodge & Cox sold more than 90% of its stake in CarMax Inc. (KMX, Financial), a Virginia-based used-car retailer, selling 6,099,173 shares for an average price of $71.24 per share. The deal had a -0.38% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Dodge & Cox also sold 8,835,715 shares of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK, Financial), a Manhattan-based banking and financial services corporation, for an average price of $42.57 per share. The transaction had a -0.33% impact on Dodge & Cox’s portfolio.

Dodge & Cox sold out seven stakes in its portfolio – AOL Inc. (AOL), Nokia Oyj (NOK, Financial), AT&T Inc. (T, Financial), Sempra Energy (SRE, Financial), PG&E Corp. (PCG, Financial), Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) and Aetna Inc. (AET).

To view the portfolios of more gurus, visit the List of Gurus page. Not a premium member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days.

Research Tools

All-In-One Screener Stock Ideas Stock List Guru List Guru Real-Time Picks Insider List Insider Trades Economic Indicators Sector & Industry Performance DCF Calculator Discussion Board

Product

Pricing Plans Excel Add-In Google Sheets Add-on Data API Stock Comparison Table Manual of Stocks Mobile App 中文

Education

Financial Glossary Tutorials FAQ Schedule Free Session Buffett Indicator Shiller P/E Yield Curve Today U.S. Inflation Rate Global Market Valuation Fed Net Liquidity Buffett Assets Allocation

Company

About GuruFocus Career Contact Us ETF Advertise Site Map Term of Use Privacy Policy Referral Program Partner Program

Survey

We'd love to learn more about your experiences on GuruFocus.com and how we can improve!

Take Survey

Disclaimers

GuruFocus.com is not operated by a broker or a dealer. It has an affiliated registered investment adviser, which serves as the subadviser to an exchange traded fund. This investment adviser does not provide advice to individual investors. Under no circumstances does any information posted on GuruFocus.com represent a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute investment advice or recommendations. The individuals or entities selected as "gurus" may buy and sell securities before and after any particular article and report and information herein is published, with respect to the securities discussed in any article and report posted herein. Gurus may be added or dropped from the GuruFocus site at any time. In no event shall GuruFocus.com be liable to any member, guest or third party for any damages of any kind arising out of the use of any content or other material published or available on GuruFocus.com, or relating to the use of, or inability to use, GuruFocus.com or any content, including, without limitation, any investment losses, lost profits, lost opportunity, special, incidental, indirect, consequential or punitive damages. Past performance is a poor indicator of future performance. The information on this site, and in its related newsletters, is not intended to be, nor does it constitute investment advice or recommendations. The information on this site is in no way guaranteed for completeness, accuracy or in any other way. The gurus listed in this website are not affiliated with GuruFocus.com, LLC. Stock quotes are provided by QuoteMedia, Inc. (CSI). Company fundamental data is provided by Morningstar. Analyst estimates data is sourced from both Refinitiv and Morningstar, with priority given to Refinitiv data. Data is updated daily.