"Tracking Tweedy Browne Portfolio – Q3 2016 Update"
"Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio decreased from $3.56B to $3.32B this quarter.The largest five individual stock positions are Cisco Systems, Johnson & Johnson, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, and Wells Fargo and they account for ~43% of the US long portfolio.Berkshire Hathaway was reduced significantly while increasing AGCO Corporation during the quarter.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Tweedy Browne’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Tweedy Browne’s regulatory  filed on 11/14/2016. Please visit our  series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q2 2016.This quarter, Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio decreased ~7% from $3.56B to $3.32B. The number of holdings remained steady at 50. The largest position is Johnson & Johnson at 10.59% of the US long portfolio. Largest five individual stock positions are Johnson & Johnson, Cisco Systems, Berkshire Hathaway, Alphabet, and Wells Fargo. Combined they are at 42.67% of the portfolio. 33 of the 50 13F stakes are significantly large (over ~0.5% of the US long portfolio each) and they are the focus of this article.Tweedy Browne (TBGVX) (TWEBX) (TBHDX) (TBCUX) has released a number of  over the years and that is a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn from their value investing philosophy. Also, Christopher Browne authored the book “”, a great introduction.Note: Tweedy Browne’s flagship Tweedy Browne Global Value Fund (TBGVX) has a global orientation with non-US allocation at ~73% of the portfolio and cash at ~17%. The top five holdings are Safran SA (SAFRF), Roche Holding AG (RHHVF), Novartis AG (NVSEF) (NVS), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GLAXF) (GSK), and Heineken Holding NV (HKHHF) (HINKY). Together, they are at ~15% of the fund.Stake Increases:Agco Corporation (AGCO): AGCO was a minutely small stake as of Q3 2015. The following quarter saw a ~92% increase at prices between $43.50 and $51.50 and that was followed with another ~48% increase in Q1 2016 at prices between $44 and $53.50. This quarter saw another ~12% increase at prices between $46 and $50. The stock is currently well above those ranges at $56.16 and the position is at 1.29% of the 13F portfolio.Avnet Inc. (AVT): AVT is a small 0.89% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q1 2016 at prices between $37.50 and $45 and increased by ~8% last quarter at prices between $39 and $45. The stock currently trades just above those ranges at $46.19. This quarter saw a marginal further increase.General Electric (GE): GE is a minutely small 0.55% stake that saw a marginal increase this quarter.Stake Decreases:3M Company (MMM): MMM is a fairly large 4.13% long-term stake first purchased in 2008. It saw a ~11% reduction last quarter at prices between $165 and $175. That was followed with another ~15% selling this quarter at prices between $175 and $182. The stock is now at $172. Tweedy Browne is harvesting huge long-term gains.Baxter International (BAX): BAX is a medium-sized ~3% portfolio stake established in 2010. The position saw a ~4% trimming last quarter and that was followed with a ~10% selling this quarter at prices between $41 and $49. It currently trades at $46.56. Tweedy Browne is starting to harvest gains.Bank of New York Mellon (BK): BK is a fairly large 5.43% stake first purchased in 2010 in the mid-20s price range. Q1 2016 saw a ~41% stake increase at prices between $32.50 and $38. There was a ~11% selling this quarter at prices between $37 and $42. The stock currently trades at $47.47.Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B): Berkshire Hathaway is a very long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. It is currently their third-largest position at ~8% of the US long portfolio. Back in 2009, it was a very small 0.60% of the portfolio position. The bulk of the current stake was purchased in 2010 and 2012 at prices between $65 and $90. The position was marginally decreased over the last nine quarters. This quarter saw a ~42% reduction at prices between $142 and $151. The stock currently trades at $158. Tweedy Browne is harvesting huge long-term gains.Cisco Systems (CSCO): CSCO was a 2.2% of the US long portfolio position when first established in 2011. It is currently their largest 13F stake at 12.10% of the US long portfolio. The bulk of the position was purchased in 2012 at prices between $15.50 and $21. Q1 2016 saw a ~45% stake increase at prices between $22.50 and $28.50. The stock currently trades at $29.69. This quarter saw a ~6% trimming.Comcast Corporation (CMCSA): CMCSA is a very long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. The stake was reduced by ~11% in Q4 2015 at prices between $56 and $63. This quarter saw another ~16% selling at prices between $65 and $68. The stock is now at ~$68.95. Tweedy Browne is harvesting gains.ConocoPhillips (COP): COP was a minutely small position in 2007. The majority of the current ~2.4M share stake (3.19% of portfolio) was purchased in 2009 at prices between $22 and $40. The stock currently trades at $46.30. Last three quarters have seen minor reductions.Note: The figures quoted above are adjusted for the May 1, 2012 COP spinoff of Phillips 66 whereby COP shareholders received one share of Phillips 66 for every 2 shares of COP.Devon Energy (DVN): DVN is a fairly large 4.48% of the US long portfolio position. The bulk of the stake was purchased in 2012 when around 2.2M shares were acquired at prices between $51 and $75. It had seen marginal reductions in the last nine quarters. This quarter saw a ~11% further reduction at prices between $36 and $45. The stock currently trades at $45.04. Tweedy Browne realized losses.Emerson Electric (EMR): EMR is a long-term 2.80% stake. The position was first purchased in 2008 and doubled the following year at a cost-basis in the low-30s. Around 40% of that original position was sold in 2010 in the low-50s price-range. It had since been kept relatively steady. Last major activity was in Q2 2015 when the stake saw a ~13% reduction at prices between $55 and $62. There was another ~7% trimming this quarter at prices between $51 and $56. The stock currently trades at $55.06.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) previously Google: GOOG is a large (top five) ~6% position first purchased in 2012 at much lower prices compared to the current trading price of $761. This quarter saw a ~9% trimming at prices between $692 and $787. Tweedy Browne is starting to harvest huge long-term gains.Halliburton Company (HAL): HAL is a large 5.55% of the portfolio stake. It was established in 2012 at prices between $27.50 and $38.50. There had only been very minor adjustments since. This quarter saw a ~20% reduction at prices between $41 and $47. The stock currently trades at $49.47.International Business Machines (IBM): IBM is a 1.89% of the 13F portfolio position established in Q3 2015 at prices between $141 and $173. Q1 2016 saw a 22% increase at prices between $118 and $152. The stock currently trades at $162. There was a very minor trimming this quarter.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): JNJ is the second-largest position in the US long portfolio at ~11%. It is a long-term stake that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. The position was built up from 400K shares to just over 4.3M shares between 2009 and 2012 at prices between $48 and $72. Since then, the stake saw minor selling most quarters and that pattern continued this quarter: ~7% reduction. The share count is now at 2.98M shares. The stock currently trades at $113. Tweedy Browne is harvesting long-term gains from this position.MRC Global (MRC): The 2.28% MRC stake was purchased in Q3 & Q4 2015 at prices between $11 and $16. This quarter saw a ~22% selling at prices between $12.50 and $16.50. The stock is now at $19.70.Note: Tweedy Browne still controls ~4.7% of MRC.Philip Morris (PM): PM is a fairly large ~4% of the portfolio stake established in 2009 at a cost-basis in the high-30s. The following year also saw a ~50% increase in the low-50s price range. Around two-thirds of that original stake was disposed of in 2012 in the high-80s price range. The remaining position had been kept relatively steady since. Last quarter saw a ~18% reduction at prices between $97 and $102 and that was followed with another ~6% trimming this quarter. The stock is now at $89. Tweedy Browne is harvesting long-term gains.Verizon Communications (VZ): VZ is a 2.51% of the US long portfolio position established in Q3 2014 at prices between $48.50 and $52. In Q4 2014, the stake was increased by ~38% at prices between $45.50 and $51.50 and that was followed by a ~31% increase in Q2 2015 at prices between $46.50 and $50.50. Last quarter saw a marginal increase while this quarter saw very minor trimming. The stock currently trades at $50.23.Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC is a top-five position at 5.86% of the US long portfolio. The initial stake was established in 2010 with the bulk of the current position purchased in 2011 at prices between $25 and $34. The stock currently trades at $52.16. Q4 2015 saw a ~7% reduction at prices between $51 and $56. There was a ~8% increase last quarter at prices between $45 and $51 while this quarter saw a ~12% reduction at prices between $44 and $51.Diageo plc (DEO), Lockheed Martin (LMT), MasterCard Inc. (MA), National Western Life (NWLI), Novartis AG (NVS), Phillips 66 (PSX), UniFirst Corporation (UNF), Unilever (UN) (UL), Union Pacific (UNP), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT): These are small positions (less than 2% of the US long portfolio) that were reduced this quarter.Note: The firm has a fairly large stake in Diageo, although the 13F position is very small - the rest of the shares are London listed which are outside the realm of 13F filings.Kept Steady:Coca Cola FEMSA (KOF), Illinois Tool Works (ITW), and US Bancorp (USB): These are very small (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio each) stakes kept steady this quarter.Other minutely small (less than 0.5% of the US long portfolio each) positions in the 13F portfolio include American Express (AXP), American National Insurance (ANAT), CKX lands (CKX), Connecticut Water Service (CTWS), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), HSBC Holdings (HSBC), Leucadia National (LUK), Merck (MRK), NOW Inc. (DNOW), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), Shenandoah Tel. (SHEN), Shire plc (SHPG), Torchmark Corp. (TMK), and Total S A ADR (TOT).Note: GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total SA are top positions in the firm. Shares in these European businesses are primarily held in their native markets and so are outside the realm of US 13F filings.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Tweedy Browne’s US stock holdings in Q3 2016:"