"Tracking Tweedy Browne Portfolio – Q3 2014 Update"
"Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio decreased from $4.68B to $4.34B this quarter.The largest five individual stock positions are Johnson & Johnson, Halliburton, Berkshire Hathaway, Devon Energy, and Wells Fargo and they account for around 38% of the US long portfolio.A large ~9% position in Banco Santander Brazil was reduced by over 40% this quarter.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Tweedy Browne US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Tweedy Browne’s regulatory  filed on 11/12/2014. Please visit our  series to get an idea of their investment philosophy and the fund’s moves during Q2 2014.This quarter, Tweedy Browne’s US long portfolio decreased 7.2% from $4.68B to $4.34B. The number of holdings remained steady at 49. The largest holding is Johnson & Johnson at 10.22% of the US long portfolio. Largest five individual stock positions are Johnson & Johnson, Halliburton, Berkshire Hathaway, Devon Energy, and Wells Fargo. 33 of the 49 reported stakes are significantly large (over ~0.5% of the US long portfolio each) and they are the focus of this article.Tweedy Browne has released a number of  over the years and that is a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn from their investment philosophy.  The best known work is “” that was first released in 1992 and updated in 2009.New Stakes:Verizon Communications (VZ): VZ is a small 1.17% of the US long portfolio position established this quarter at prices between $48.40 and $52. VZ has seen super-investor interest with Berkshire Hathaway & Chou Associates Management also adding recently. The stock currently trades at $51.10, well within their purchase price ranges.Stake Disposals:None.Stake Increases:None.Stake Decreases:Banco Santander Brasil (BSBR): BSBR was the second-largest position at 9.07% of the US long portfolio as of last quarter. The position was aggressively built-up against falling prices over several quarters at prices between $4.48 and $7.29. This quarter the pattern reversed as the stake was reduced by 41.64% at prices between $6.48 and $7.09. The stock currently trades at $5.50 and the remaining stake is at 5.39% of the US long portfolio. The about-turn indicates a clear bearish bias.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. Back in 2009, it was a very small 0.6% of the portfolio position. The bulk of the current 6.89% stake was purchased in 2010 and 2012 at prices between $65 and $90. The position was marginally reduced last two quarters. The stock currently trades at around $146.Cisco Systems (CSCO): CSCO was a 2.2% of the US long portfolio position when first established in 2011. The bulk of the current 6.19% stake was purchased in 2012 at prices between $15.50 and $21. Since then, the position was kept relatively steady although the last few quarters have seen minor stake reductions. The stock currently trades at $25.61.ConocoPhillips (COP): COP was a minutely small position in 2007. The majority of the current ~2.8M share position (5.01%) was purchased in 2009 at prices between $37 and $55. The stock currently trades at $70.37. The last several quarters have seen minor stake reductions.NOTE: The figures quoted above understate the actual performance of this position as there was a spin-off related price-drop. On May 1, 2012 COP had spun off Phillips 66 whereby COP shareholders received one share of Phillips 66 for every 2 shares of COP.Devon Energy (DVN): DVN is a large 6.58% of the US long portfolio position that was reduced marginally in the last two quarters. The bulk of the current position was purchased in 2012 when around 2.2M shares were acquired at prices between $51 and $75. The stock currently trades at $63.32. The position has been kept relatively steady since.Google Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL) & Joy Global (JOY): GOOG & JOY are medium-sized (less than ~5% of the US long portfolio) positions first purchased in 2012. Most of the GOOG position was purchased in 2012 at much lower prices. The bulk of the JOY stake was purchased in 2013 and the stock price has not budged much since.Halliburton Company (HAL): HAL is the second-largest position at 7.92% of the US long portfolio. The bulk of the stake was purchased in 2012 at prices between $27.80 and $38.50. The stock currently trades well outside that range at $51.69 and the position has seen marginal reductions in the last few quarters.Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): JNJ is the largest position in the US long portfolio at 10.22%. It is a long-term position that has been in the portfolio since before the financial crisis. The stake 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 position has been marginally reduced and the pattern continued this quarter with a minor 0.77% reduction. The share count is still at ~4.2M shares. The stock currently trades at around $109. Tweedy Browne is sitting on long-term gains on this position.National-Oilwell Varco (NOV): NOV is a small 0.65% of the US long portfolio position established in Q3 2013 at prices between $69 and $79. The original position was increased by ~12% earlier this year at prices between $73 and $83. This quarter saw a very minor reduction and the stock currently trades at $71.37.NOTE: The figures quoted above understate the actual performance of this position as there was a spin-off related price-drop. On June 2, 2014, NOV shareholders received one share of NOW Inc. (DNOW) common stock for every four shares of NOV held.Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC is a top-five position that was marginally reduced this quarter to a 6.21% of the US long portfolio stake. 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 $53.52.Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), Lockheed Martin (LMT), & MasterCard Inc. (MA): These are small positions (less than 2% of the US long portfolio) that were reduced significantly this quarter. The activity indicates a mild bearish bias toward these businesses.3M Company (MMM), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Baxter International (BAX), Emerson Electric (EMR), & Philip Morris (PM): These are medium-sized (less than ~5% of the US long portfolio) long-term stakes in the portfolio. MMM & EMR positions were first purchased in 2008 while BK & PM stakes were established in 2010 & 2009 respectively. The positions have seen very minor stake reductions in recent quarters. The long-term nature of these positions indicates a clear bullish bias toward these businesses.Novartis AG (NVS), Phillips 66 (PSX), American Express (AXP), American National Insurance (ANAT), Comcast Corporation (CMCSA), Diageo plc (DEO), Torchmark Corporation (TMK), Total SA (TOT), Unilever (UN) (UL), & Union Pacific (UNP): These are small positions (less than 2% of the US long portfolio) that were reduced marginally this quarter. As the activities were very minor, they do not indicate a clear change in bias.Kept Steady:Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Coca Cola FEMSA (KOF), & Illinois Tool Works (ITW): These are small positions (less than 2% of the US long portfolio) that were kept steady this quarter.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Tweedy Browne’s US stock holdings in Q3 2014:"