T. Rowe Price Japan Fund's Top Five Fourth Quarter Picks

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Jan 16, 2014
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Over the fourth quarter the T. Rowe Price Japan Fund purchased 14 new stocks. This brought the total number of stocks held by them to 90 stocks valued at $310 million. This fund seeks long-term growth of capital through investments in common stocks of companies located in Japan.

The following five companies represent T. Rowe Price Fund’s top five stock holdings.

Toyota Motor Corp (TSE:7203)

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund’s largest position is in Toyota Motor Corp. The fund currently holds on to 235,600 shares of the company’s stock, representing 4.6% of the fund’s total portfolio and 0.01% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter, the T. Rowe Price Fund purchased 17,200 shares of Toyota, representing a 7.88% increase in their holdings. They purchased these shares at an estimated average quarterly price of ¥6281.94. Since then the price per share has dropped a slight -0.7%%

T. Rowe Price has held Toyota Motor since 2012Q2 and has seen average gains of 60%.

The fund’s historical holding history of Toyota:

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Toyota Motor conducts its business in the automotive industry as well as the finance and other industries. The company’s automotive operations include the design, manufacture, assembly and sale of passenger cars, minivans and commercial vehicles.

Toyota Motor’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Toyota reports that the company’s Piotroski F-Score is high, its dividend yield is sitting at a 2-year low, over the past three years the company has issued JPY15.7 billion of debt, and it has been in operating loss over the past three years.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Toyota Motor has a market cap of ¥21184.5 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ¥6235 with a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/S ratio of 0.82 and a P/B ratio of 1.49. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 17.00% over the past five years.

SOFTBANK Corp (TSE:9984)

T. Rowe’s second largest position is in SOFTBANK Corp. The fund holds on to 152,900 shares of the company’s stock. Their position in the company represents 4.3% of their total portfolio.

During the third quarter the fund reduced their stake in the company -2.8% by selling a total of 4,400 shares. T. Rowe purchased these shares in the third quarter price range of ¥6875 to ¥9220, with an estimated average quarterly price of ¥7994, with an estimated average quarterly price of ¥633.17. The price has since then increased approximately 10.9%.

T. Rowe’s historical holding history of SOFTBANK:

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SOFTBANK serves the computer industry by providing information infrastructure and distribution services. It also invests in and maintains a portfolio of Internet-related ventures. The firm holds stakes in more than 400 Internet companies.

SOFTBANK’s historical revenue and net income:

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T. Rowe Price Japan Fund and the Matthews Japan Fund are the only guru-ranked funds that maintain a position in SOFTBANK.

The only warning sign for SOFTBANK reports that the company’s Piotroski F-Score is High, indicating that the company is in a very healthy situation.

Softbank has a market cap of ¥10414.9 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ¥8863.00

Honda Motor Co. (TSE:7267)

The fund’s third largest position is in Honda Motor where they hold on to 295,300 shares of the company’s stock. Their holding 3.9% of their total portfolio and 0.02% of the company’s shares outstanding.

During the third quarter T. Rowe upped their stake 22.68% by purchasing 54,600 shares. They purchased these shares in the price range of ¥3695 to ¥4365, with an estimated average quarterly price of ¥4059. Since then the price per share has increased about 2.3%.

T. Rowe Price Japan Fund’s historical holding history:

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Honda Motor develops, produces, and manufactures motor products, including small general-purpose engines and scooters and specialty sports cars. Its business segments are the motorcycle business, automobile business, financial services business and power product and other businesses.

Honda Motor’s historical revenue and net income:

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The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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Honda Motor has a market cap of ¥7416.44 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ¥4150 with a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/S ratio of 0.68 and a P/B ratio of 1.40. The company had an annual average earnings growth 1.30% over the past 10 years.

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (TSE:9432)

The guru fund’s fourth largest holding is in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone where they maintain 176,200 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 3.1% of their total portfolio and 0.02% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter T. Rowe Japan upped their position 7.9% by purchasing an additional 12,900 shares of the company’s stock. They purchased these shares at around the estimated average quarterly price of ¥5239 per share, and since then the price per share has increased approximately 7.2%.

T. Rowe Japan’s historical holding history:

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Nippon Telegraph & Telephone is a provider of fixed and mobile voice related services, IP/packet communications services, telecommunications equipment, system integration and other telecommunications-related services in Japan.

Nippon’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Nippon reports that the company’s price is trading at a 10-year high, it has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth and its Piotroski F-Score is high, indicating a healthy situation for the company.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Nippon Telegraph & Telephone has a market cap of ¥6378.12 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ¥5617 with a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/S ratio of 0.62 and a P/B ratio of 0.79. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 0.30% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated the company the business predictability rank of 2.5-star.

Japan Tobacco (TSE:2914)

T. Rowe’s fifth largest position goes to Japan Tobacco where the fund holds on to 259,800 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up of 2.7% of their total portfolio and 0.01% of the company’s shares outstanding.

During the fourth quarter T. Rowe purchased 18,800 shares at an estimated average quarterly price of ¥3488.39 per share. Since their increase the price per share has dropped approximately -7.7%.

T. Rowe’s historical holding history:

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Japan Tobacco is engaged in the tobacco business. It operates in the following business segments: Japanese Domestic Tobacco business and the International Tobacco business.

Japan Tobacco’s historical revenue and net income:

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T. Rowe Price Japan Fund is the only guru rated fund that currently holds a stake in Japan Tobacco.

The analysis on Japan Tobacco reports that the company’s revenue has been in decline over the past five years, its operating margin is expanding and its price is nearing a 10-year high.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Japan Tobacco has a market cap of ¥5765.08 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around ¥3221 with a P/E ratio of 14.30, a P/S ratio of 2.65 and a P/B ratio of 2.71. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 8.60% over the past ten years.

Check out T. Rowe Japan Fund’s complete fourth quarter portfolio here.

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