With its roots deep in Spain’s investing environment, it should be no surprise that most of the Bestinfond fund’s stakes are in foreign stocks, and many are based in Spain.
However, of the 17 companies that were new buys in Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio in the fourth quarter, only two – Abertis Infraestructuras SA (XMCE:ABE, Financial) and Iberdrola SA (XMCE:IBE, Financial) – are based in Spain, and their influences on that portfolio were minimal. Of the remaining 15 new buys, all but three are based in other European countries or the United Kingdom.
The most influential new buy in Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio is Volkswagen AG (XTER:VOW3, Financial), an automaker based in Germany. Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) bought 115,148 shares of Volkswagen for an average price of €172.21 per share. The transaction had a 1.8% impact on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio.
Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s second most influential new buy is Carrefour (XPAR:CA, Financial), a France-based retailer. Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) acquired 763,909 shares in the company for an average price of €23.91 per share. That purchase had a 1.6% impact on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio.
Gurus IVA International Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of Carrefour in their portfolios.
The fourth-largest new buy in Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio was GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LSE:GSK, Financial). Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) bought 668,556 shares of GlaxoSmithKline, a British pharmaceutical company, for an average price of £14.13 per share. The acquisition had a 1% impact on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio.
In addition to Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio), four gurus have shares of GlaxoSmithKline in their portfolios – Causeway International Value (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) Global Value, Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) and David Herro (Trades, Portfolio).
The fifth-greatest impact by a new stake on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio came from WPP PLC (LSE:WPP), a London-based advertising and public relations company. Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) bought 637,405 shares of WPP for an average price of £12.62 per share. That transaction had a 0.93% impact on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio.
Three other gurus have shares of WPP in their portfolios – Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) and Invesco European Growth Fund (Trades, Portfolio).
Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s purchase of 186,451 shares of Publicis Groupe SA (XPAR:PUB), an advertising and public relations company based in Paris, also had a 0.93% impact on Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio)’s portfolio. Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) paid an average price of €56.25 per share.
Three gurus – David Herro (Trades, Portfolio), Invesco European Growth Fund (Trades, Portfolio) and MS Global Franchise Fund (Trades, Portfolio) – have shares of Publicis Groupe in their portfolios.
Other European- or British-based companies that Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) added to its portfolio in the fourth quarter are Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (XTER:BMW), Kering (XPAR:KER), Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (LSE:IMT), Randstad (XAMS:RAND), KONE Oyj (OHEL:KNEBV), British American Tobacco PLC (LSE:BATS) and Brammer PLC (LSE:BRAM).
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