Sarah Ketterer's Causeway International Value's Top Five Holdings

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Jun 05, 2014
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Sarah Ketterer is the CEO and co-founder of Causeway. She is the portfolio manager for the firm’s fundamental and absolute returns strategies, and is responsible for investment research across all sectors. Ketterer along with Conor Muldoon, Jonathan Eng, Kevin Durkin, Harry Hartford and James Doyle manage the Causeway International Value Fund. According to their website, the International Value Fund is constructed from an equity universe spanning developed international markets.

Over the past quarter Ketterer added four new stocks to her international portfolio, bringing the total to 64 stocks valued at $5.333 billion. The following five companies are the Causeway International Value’s top five holdings.

Akzo Nobel (XAMS:AKZA)

Causeway’s largest position is in Akzo Nobel where the fund holds 2,416,421 shares. Their position in the company represents 1% of the company’s shares outstanding and 3.7% of its total portfolio.

During the first quarter the fund upped their stake in Akzo Nobel by 14.06%. The fund bought a total of 297,797 shares in the first quarter price range of €52.91 to €60.77, with an estimated average price of €57.29. The share price has since then dropped approximately -4.9%.

Causeway’s holding history as of the first quarter:

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Akzo Nobel is one of the world's leading companies in selected areas of healthcare products, coatings, chemical, and fibers. The company also makes paints, stains, synthetic resins, ethical and nonprescription drugs, hospital related supplies and several other products.

Akzo Nobel’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Akzo Nobel reports that the company’s revenue has been in decline over the past year, its dividend yield is sitting near a 2-year low and its price is sitting near a 5-year high.

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

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Akzo Nobel has a market cap of €13.26 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around €54.46 with a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/S ratio of 0.92 and a P/B ratio of 2.08. The company currently holds a dividend yield of 2.26%.

Novartis AG (XSWX:NOVN)

The second largest holding of Causeway is in Novartis where they hold on to 2,021,499 shares of the company’s stock. This position makes up for 3.2% of the fund’s portfolio and 0.08% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter Causeway upped their holdings 18.3% by purchasing 312,735 shares of the company’s stock. They purchased these shares in the quarterly price range of CHF70.65 to CHF75.30, with an estimated average quarterly price of CHF72.72 per share. Since then the price per share is trading up about 8.9%.

Causeway’s historical holding history:

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Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies worldwide with a portfolio that includes innovative medicines, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools, generic pharmaceuticals and consumer health products.

Novartis’ historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Novartis reports that the company’s revenue has slowed down over the past year, its dividend yield is near a 5-year low, and its price is near a 5-year high.

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

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Novartis has a market cap of $193.79 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $79.20 with a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/S ratio of 3.71 and a P/B ratio of 3.14. The dividend yield of the company’s stocks is at 2.01%. Novartis had an annual average earnings growth of 6.50% over the past ten years.

Reed Elsevier NV (XAMS:REN)

Causeway International Value’s third largest holding is in Reed Elsevier. The fund holds on to 7,611,486 shares, representing 3.1% of its total portfolio as well as 1.12% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter the fund upped their holdings 3.29% by purchasing 242,100 shares of the company’s stock. They purchased these shares in the quarterly price range of €15.09 to €16.23, with an estimated average quarterly price of €15.63 per share. Since then the price per share is trading up about 4.5%.

Causeway’s holding history as of the first quarter:

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Reed Elsevier NV operates as a publisher and an information provider. Its activities include science and medical, legal and business publishing.

Reed Elsevier’s historical revenue and net income:

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The anlaysis on Reed Elsevier reports that the company’s price is near a 10-year high, its Piotroski F-Score is Low, implying poor business operation, and the company currently holds no debt.

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

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Reed Elsevier has a market cap of €10.87 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around €16.34 with a P/E ratio of 18.30. Reed Elsevier stocks currently hold a dividend yield of 2.63%.

Siemens (FRA:SIE)

Sarah Ketterer’s fourth largest holding in the international fund is French-based Siemens AG. The fund holds on to 1,223,311 shares of the company’s stock, representing 3.1% of her total portfolio and 0.15% of the company’s shares outstanding.

Over the past quarter, the fund upped their stake in Siemens 19.1% by adding 196,220 shares of the company’s stock. They purchased these shares in the first quarter price range of €88.73 to €101.10, with an estimated average quarterly price of €95.89 per share. Since their increase the price per share has jumped up about 2.1%.

The fund’s historical holding history:

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Siemens is a Germany-based Company which is engaged in electronics and electrical engineering. The company's operations are focused on three sectors. These Sectors are Industry, Energy and Healthcare.

Siemens’ historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Siemens reports that the company’s operating margin is expanding, its revenue has slowed down over the past year and the price is sitting near a 2-year high. The analysis also notes that the company has issued EUR1.3 billion of debt over the past three years, but that debt level is acceptable.

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

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Siemens AG has a market cap of €82.84 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around €97.90 with a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/S ratio of 1.11 and a P/B ratio of 2.85. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 6.10% over the past ten years.

Sanofi (XPAR:SAN)

The guru’s fifth largest position is in Sanofi, where the fund holds on to 1,583,387 shares of the company’s stock. Their holdings in the company make up for 3.1% of their total portfolio holdings along with 0.12% of the company’s shares outstanding.

During the first quarter the fund upped their stake 23.13% by purchasing a total of 297,409 shares. The fund bought these shares in the quarterly price range of €69.40 to €77.12, with an estimated average quarterly price of €73.87 per share. Since this increase the price per share is up approximately 6.1%.

The fund’s historical holding history:

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Sanofi is a French healthcare company that is primarily focused on patient needs and is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of healthcare products. The company is traded in France, Germany, Italy and the United States.

Sanofi’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on the Sanofi reports that the revenue has been in decline over the past year, that the operating and gross margins have been in decline over the past few years and that the P/B ratio is nearing a 1-year low.

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

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Sanofi has a market cap of €103.8 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around €78.38 with a P/E ratio of 27.30, a P/S ratio of 3.17 and a P/B ratio of 1.70. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 8.10% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Sanofi the business predictability rank of 2-star.

Check out the complete first quarter portfolio of Causeway International Value Fund here.

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