Arnold Van Den Berg Publishes Investor Letter; Top Holdings: MSFT, WMT, KO, CL, WAG, MMM

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Dec 08, 2010
Century Management’s Arnold Van Den Berg has a long and outstanding track record. Through the end of 2009, for a little over 35 years, his CM Value 1 Composite returned 13.37% per year.

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Recently, Van Den Berg penned a long investor letter. It is very well written and worth the reading. Here is the conclusion:
There is much work to be done to overcome the economic problems that we face today; however, with a little time these “insoluble” problems will work themselves out, just as they have done for the last 100 years. As we explained, we believe:
  • Over the next two to three years, the majority of the residential real estate problems should be behind us.
  • Over the next three to five years, consumer debt should be reduced closer to its long”term historical average.
  • Consumers and corporations will likely continue to build their cash savings that eventually will be used to fuel the future economic growth of our economy.
  • With enough pressure brought to bear by the American people, there is hope for pro”business regulations and tax policies fromWashington, which in turn will help expand the labor force.
  • With a pickup in the overall economy, unemployment levels should begin a significant decline over the next four to six years.
  • We should see an increase in consumer confidence over the next five years.

As the country begins to overcome its economic challenges over this next five years, the pain will begin to fade, and the healing will begin. As this is taking place, the U.S. stock market will likely suffer some setbacks along the way, but the overall trend should be higher. Once we get beyond this five”year period, we believe the economic growth the world should experience will be very impressive. In addition, U.S. companies and their corresponding stocks are likely to be in another great bull market.

GuruFocus tracks Van Den Berg’s stock portfolio, and here are his top holdings as of September 30, 2010.

No. 1: Microsoft Corp. (MSFT, Financial), Weightings: 5.71% - 2,712,214 Shares

Microsoft develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for a multitude of computing devices. Microsoft Corp. has a market cap of $229.89 billion; its shares were traded at around $26.87 with a P/E ratio of 11.6 and P/S ratio of 3.7. The dividend yield of Microsoft Corp. stocks is 2.4%. Microsoft Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 12.6% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Microsoft Corp. the business predictability rank of 3-star.



No. 2: WalMart Stores Inc. (WMT, Financial), Weightings: 5.14% - 1,116,861 Shares

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer. Walmart Stores Inc. has a market cap of $200.34 billion; its shares were traded at around $55.09 with a P/E ratio of 14.1 and P/S ratio of 0.5. The dividend yield of Walmart Stores Inc. stocks is 2.2%. Walmart Stores Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 11.1% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Walmart Stores Inc. the business predictability rank of 5-star.



No. 3: The CocaCola Company (KO, Financial), Weightings: 4.64% - 923,377 Shares

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company and is the producer and marketer of soft drinks. The Cocacola Company has a market cap of $148.94 billion; its shares were traded at around $64.14 with a P/E ratio of 18.6 and P/S ratio of 4.8. The dividend yield of The Cocacola Company stocks is 2.8%. The Cocacola Company had an annual average earning growth of 8.9% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated The Cocacola Company the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.

MSFT, WMT, KO, CL,

No. 4: ColgatePalmolive Company (CL, Financial), Weightings: 3.48% - 526,583 Shares

Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer products company, tightly focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Household Surface Care, Fabric Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgatepalmolive Company has a market cap of $37.73 billion; its shares were traded at around $78.17 with a P/E ratio of 16.3 and P/S ratio of 2.4. The dividend yield of Colgatepalmolive Company stocks is 2.7%. Colgatepalmolive Company had an annual average earning growth of 8.6% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Colgatepalmolive Company the business predictability rank of 4-star.



No. 5: Walgreen Company (WAG, Financial), Weightings: 3.3% - 1,145,374 Shares

Walgreen Co. is a national retail pharmacy chain and considered the leader in innovative drugstore retailing. Walgreen Company has a market cap of $33.53 billion; its shares were traded at around $36.22 with a P/E ratio of 17 and P/S ratio of 0.5. The dividend yield of Walgreen Company stocks is 1.9%. Walgreen Company had an annual average earning growth of 11.7% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Walgreen Company the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

MSFT, WMT, KO, CL, WAG, MMM

No. 6: 3M Company (MMM, Financial), Weightings: 3.26% - 438,164 Shares

3M Company is a diversified technology company with positions in consumer and office; display and graphics; electronics and telecommunications; health care; industrial; safety, security and protection services; transportation and other businesses. 3m Company has a market cap of $60.18 billion; its shares were traded at around $84.19 with a P/E ratio of 14.6 and P/S ratio of 2.6. The dividend yield of 3m Company stocks is 2.5%. 3m Company had an annual average earning growth of 10.3% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated 3m Company the business predictability rank of 3.5-star.



Van Den Berg commented on three of his top holdings in the investor letter, so make sure you read the letter by clicking here.

Also Check out his complete portfolio at Arnold Van Den Berg.