"Tracking Tweedy Browne Portfolio – Q1 2017 Update"
"Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio increased from $3.20B to $3.48B this quarter.The largest five individual stock positions are Cisco Systems, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, Baidu, and Bank of New York Mellon and they account for ~42% of the portfolio.Tweedy Browne added Baidu Inc. while decreasing Baxter International 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 05/15/2017. Please visit our  series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and our  for the fund’s moves during Q4 2016.This quarter, Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio increased ~9% from $3.20B to $3.48B. The number of holdings increased from 49 to 52. The largest position is Cisco Systems at 10.82% of the US long portfolio. Largest five individual stock positions are Cisco Systems, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, Baidu Inc., and Bank of New York Mellon. Combined they are at 41.73% of the portfolio. 31 of the 52 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 ~76% of the portfolio and cash at ~14%. The top five holdings are Safran SA (SAFRY) (SAFRF), Roche Holding AG (RHHVF), Nestle SA (NSRGY) (NSRGF), GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GLAXF) (GSK), and Heineken Holding (HEINY) (HKHHF). Together, they are at ~15% of the fund.Stake Disposals:None.New Stakes:Baidu Inc. (BIDU): BIDU is a top-five ~7% portfolio stake purchased this quarter at prices between $168 and $186 and the stock is now just above that range at $189.   For investors attempting to follow Tweedy Browne, BIDU is a good option to consider for further research.Note: Tweedy Browne’s buy thesis on BIDU is on the idea that 50% margins in the company’s core Search business is being masked by money-losing subsidiaries.Stake Increases:None.Stake Decreases: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 10.82% 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 $31.21. Last four quarters have seen a combined ~18% trimming at prices between $26.50 and $34.50.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 second-largest position at 9.25% 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. Q3 2016 saw a ~42% reduction at prices between $142 and $151 while the pattern reversed last quarter: ~37% increase at prices between $143 and $167. The stock currently trades at $163. There was marginal trimming this quarter.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): JNJ is the third-largest position in the US long portfolio at 8.47%. 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 had seen minor selling in most quarters. Last quarter saw a ~20% reduction at prices between $111 and $120 and that was followed with a marginal trimming this quarter. The share count is now at ~2.4M shares. The stock currently trades at $127. Tweedy Browne is harvesting long-term gains from this position.Bank of New York Mellon (BK): BK is a large top-five 6.34% stake first purchased in 2010 in the mid-20s price range. Q1 2016 saw a ~40% stake increase at prices between $32.50 and $38. There was a ~11% selling in Q3 2016 at prices between $37 and $42. The stock currently trades at $46.54. Last quarter saw a ~4% increase while this quarter saw marginal trimming.Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL): GOOG is a large 6.28% position first purchased in 2012 at much lower prices compared to the current trading price of $934. Q3 2016 saw a ~9% trimming at prices between $692 and $787. There was a very minor ~3% increase last quarter and that was followed with marginal trimming this quarter.Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC is a fairly large position at 5.89% 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. Q3 2016 saw a ~12% reduction at prices between $44 and $51 and that was followed with another ~14% selling last quarter at prices between $43.50 and $57.50. There was a very minor ~3% selling this quarter. The stock is now at $53.06.Halliburton Company (HAL): HAL is a fairly large ~5% 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. Q3 2016 saw a ~20% reduction at prices between $41 and $47 and that was followed with another ~13% selling last quarter at prices between $44.50 and $55. The stock currently trades at $47.78. Tweedy Browne is harvesting gains. This quarter also saw a ~2% trimming.Philip Morris (PM): PM is a ~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 four quarters have seen a combined ~30% reduction at prices between $88 and $113. The stock is now at $115. Tweedy Browne is harvesting long-term gains.Devon Energy (DVN): DVN is a 3.84% 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. Q3 2016 saw a ~11% reduction at prices between $36 and $45 and that was followed with a ~9% selling this quarter at prices between $38.50 and $49. The stock currently trades at $38.39.3M Company (MMM): MMM is a 3.27% long-term stake first purchased in 2008. Last four quarters have seen a combined ~40% reduction at prices between $165 and $192. The stock is now at $196. Tweedy Browne is harvesting huge long-term gains.ConocoPhillips (COP): COP was a minutely small position in 2007. The majority of the current ~2M share stake (2.92 % of portfolio) was purchased in 2009 at prices between $22 and $40. The stock currently trades at $47.48. The three quarters thru Q3 2016 had seen minor reductions. Last quarter saw a ~14% selling at prices between $40.50 and $53 and that was followed with a ~3% trimming this quarter. Tweedy Browne is starting to harvest long-term gains.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.MRC Global (MRC): The 2.37% MRC stake was purchased in Q3 & Q4 2015 at prices between $11 and $16. Q3 2016 saw a ~22% selling at prices between $12.50 and $16.50 and that was followed with a ~6% trimming this quarter. The stock is now at $20.11.Note: Tweedy Browne controls ~4.8% of MRC Global.Baxter International (BAX): BAX is a 2.32% portfolio stake established in 2010. The position saw a ~10% selling in Q3 2016 at prices between $41 and $49. This quarter saw another ~28% reduction at prices between $44.44 and $52.30. It currently trades at $57.21.Emerson Electric (EMR): EMR is a long-term 2.29% 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 further reduced. Last quarter saw a ~20% selling at prices between $49 and $58 and that was followed with a ~4% trimming this quarter. The stock currently trades at $59.40.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 $28 and $31.50. Q3 2016 saw another ~16% selling at prices between $32.50 and $34. The stock is now at $38.85. Tweedy Browne is harvesting gains. There was marginal trimming in the last two quarters.Note: The prices quoted above are adjusted for the 2-for-1 stock-split in February.Agco Corporation (AGCO): AGCO was a minutely small stake as of Q3 2015. The following quarter saw a ~90% increase at prices between $43.50 and $51.50 and that was followed with another ~50% increase in Q1 2016 at prices between $44 and $53.50. Last three quarters had seen another roughly one-third increase at prices between $46.50 and $60. The stock is currently above those ranges at $64.18 and the position is at 1.75% of the 13F portfolio. There was marginal trimming this quarter.Unilever (UN) (UL): The ~1.5% portfolio UN stake saw a one-third increase last quarter at prices between $38.50 and $46.50 and the stock is now at $54.96. There was a ~2% trimming this quarter.Note: Kraft Heinz (KHC) offered to acquire Unilever in February but withdrew the offer soon after. Unilever stock has been on an uptrend since. It has returned just over one-third YTD.International Business Machines (IBM): IBM is a 1.37% 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. Last four quarters have seen a one-third selling at prices between $146 and $181. The stock currently trades at $152.Avnet Inc. (AVT): AVT is a small 1.12% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q1 2016 at prices between $37.50 and $45 and increased by ~20% last quarter at prices between $40.50 and $49. The stock currently trades at $37.09. There was very minor selling this quarter.Verizon Communications (VZ): VZ is a ~1% of the US long portfolio position established in Q3 2014 at prices between $48.50 and $52. The next three quarters saw a ~75% increase at prices between $45.50 and $51.50. Last quarter saw an about turn: ~55% sold at prices between $46 and $54. The stock currently trades at $45.42. There was marginal trimming this quarter.American Express (AXP), Diageo plc (DEO), MasterCard Inc. (MA), National Western Life (NWLI), Phillips 66 (PSX), Total SA (TOT), Union Pacific (UNP), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT): These are small 13F positions (less than ~1% of the US long portfolio) that were reduced this quarter.Note: The firm has large stakes in Diageo and Total SA although the 13F positions are very small. The rest of the shares are held in their native markets which are outside the realm of 13F filings.Kept Steady:Coca Cola FEMSA (KOF), 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 National Insurance (ANAT), CKX lands (CKX), Connecticut Water Service (CTWS), General Electric (GE), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), HSBC Holdings (HSBC), Leucadia National (LUK), Merck & Co. (MRK), NOW Inc. (DNOW), Novartis AG (NVS), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), Shenandoah Tel. (SHEN), Shire plc (SHPG), Signet Jewelers (SIG), Torchmark Corp. (TMK), Trustmark Corp (TRMK), UniFirst Corporation (UNF), and Williams Sonoma (WSM).Note: GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, Novartis AG, and Royal Dutch Shell 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 Q1 2017:13G/D etc. filings thru 2/8/2017: MRC - 1/6/2017 13G - 4.81M shares - 5.05%."