The T. Rowe Price Japan Fund (Trades, Portfolio), part of Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW, Financial), disclosed in a regulatory portfolio update that its top trades during the fourth quarter of 2021 included the closing of its stake in Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (TAK, Financial)(TSE:4502, Financial), a new position in Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. (TSE:4568, Financial) and boosts to its holdings of SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE:9984, Financial), Plaid Inc. (TSE:4165, Financial) and Litalico Media & Solutions Inc. (TSE:7366, Financial).
Managed by Archibald Ciganer, the fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing approximately 80% of its assets in the stock of Japanese companies that have solid market positions, attractive business niches, improving industry positions and stable earnings and balance sheets.
As of December 2021, the fund’s $919 million equity portfolio contains 65 stocks with a quarterly turnover of 3%. The top four sectors in terms of weight are industrials, technology, communication services and health care, representing 32.93%, 18.97%, 13.22% and 12.60% of the equity portfolio.
Takeda
The fund sold all 345,700 shares of Takeda (TSE:4502, Financial), trimming 1.13% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Takeda averaged 3,192.81 yen ($28.08) during the fourth quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on Friday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.85.
GuruFocus ranks the Japanese drug manufacturer’s profitability 6 out of 10 on the back of profit margins and returns outperforming just over 60% of global competitors despite the company having a high Piotroski F-score of 7.
Gurus with holdings in Takeda’s U.S.-listedshares (TAK, Financial) include Catherine Wood (Trades, Portfolio)’s ARK Investment Management and Larry Robbins (Trades, Portfolio)’ Glenview Capital Management.
Daiichi Sankyo
The fund purchased 397,500 shares of Daiichi Sankyo (TSE:4568, Financial), giving the position 1.10% weight in the equity portfolio. Shares averaged 2,868.40 yen during the fourth quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on Friday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.02.
GuruFocus ranks the pharmaceutical company’s financial strength 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7, a strong Altman Z-score of 5.3 and interest coverage and debt ratios that are outperforming more than 60% of global competitors.
SoftBank
The fund added 155,900 shares of SoftBank (TSE:9984, Financial), boosting the position by 26.96% and its equity portfolio by 0.81%.
Shares of SoftBank averaged 6094.13 yen ($53.62) during the fourth quarter; the stock is significantly undervalued based on Friday’s price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.69.
GuruFocus ranks the telecom company’s financial strength 3 out of 10 on several warning signs, which include a weak Altman Z-score of 0.85 and interest coverage and debt ratios that are underperforming more than 70% of global competitors.
Plaid
The fund purchased 341,000 shares of Plaid (TSE:4165, Financial), increasing the position by 713.39% and its equity portfolio by 0.68%. Shares averaged 2696.63 yen during the fourth quarter.
GuruFocus ranks the customer experience analytics software company’s financial strength 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a double-digit Altman Z-score and a solid Piotroski F-score of 6.
Litalico
The fund added 66,000 shares of Litalico (TSE:7366, Financial), increasing the position by 379.31% and its equity portfolio by 0.25%. Shares averaged 3757.26 yen during the fourth quarter.
GuruFocus ranks the media and marketing company’s financial strength 5 out of 10 on the back of debt ratios underperforming over 77% of global competitors despite interest coverage ratios outperforming more than 77% of global diversified media companies.
