"Tracking David Abrams’ Abrams Capital Management Portfolio – Q3 2016 Update"
"David Abrams’ 13F portfolio increased this quarter from $1.91B to $2.01B. The number of positions decreased from 17 to 16.Abrams Capital Management increased Och-Ziff Capital Management during the quarter.The top three positions are Western Union, Microsoft Corporation, and Franklin Resources and they add up to ~51% of the portfolio.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to David Abrams’ US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Abrams’ regulatory  filed on 11/14/2016. Please visit our  article for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund's moves during Q2 2016.This quarter, Abrams’ US long portfolio increased 5.26% from $1.91B to $2.01B. The number of holdings decreased from 17 to 16. The top three stakes are at 50.59% of the 13F portfolio while the top five holdings are at 66.65%. The largest position by far is Western Union and it accounts for 22.33% of the US long portfolio.Stake Disposals:TICC Capital Corp. (TICC): TICC is a minutely small 0.01% of portfolio position established in Q1 2016 at prices between $4.42 and $6.11 and disposed of this quarter at prices between $5.27 and $6.48. The stock currently trades at $6.60.New Stakes:None.Stake Decreases:None.Stake Increases:Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM): OZM is a medium-sized 3.67% portfolio stake established last quarter at prices between $3.30 and $4.35 and increased by ~11% this quarter at prices between $3.35 and $4.49. The stock is now below those ranges at $2.98. For investors attempting to follow Abrams, OZM is a good option to consider for further research.Note: Abrams controls ~9.4 % of the business.Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS): BKS is a fairly large 5.84% of the US long portfolio position. The stake was established in Q1 2014 and almost doubled the following quarter in the mid-teens price-range. The four quarters thru Q1 2016 saw a combined ~150% increase at prices between $7.33 and $12.50. Overall, his cost-basis is at around $10 after adjusting for the Barnes & Noble Education spin-off transaction that closed in July 2015. The stock is now at $12.95. This quarter saw a marginal increase.Kept Steady:Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED): BNED is a 4.17% of the portfolio stake. It was established as a result of the spinoff of BNED from Barnes & Noble: shareholders of Barnes & Noble received 0.632 shares of BNED for each share of BKS held. After close of the transaction, the position was more than doubled at prices between $11.50 and $15. Q4 2015 saw a further ~15% increase at prices between $8.50 and $15.50. The stock currently trades at $11.66. There was a ~7% further increase in Q1 2016 at prices between $8.50 and $11.50 and a marginal increase last quarter.Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO): CCO is a very small ~1% of the US long portfolio stake. It is a very long-term position that has been in the portfolio since 2009. The stake has been kept almost steady since. In March 2012, CCO paid a special-dividend of $6.08 per share and that recouped almost the entire outlay on this investment. The stock currently trades at $5.65.Franklin Resources (BEN): BEN is a large (top-three) 14.03% of the 13F portfolio position established in Q4 2015 at prices between $35 and $42 and increased by ~51% the following quarter at prices between $31.50 and $39. The stock currently trades at $39.32.Global Eagle Entertainment (ENT): ENT is a ~2% of the US long portfolio position first purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $9 and $15.50 and increased by two-thirds in Q3 2014 at prices between $9.50 and $14. The stock currently trades below the low end of his purchase price ranges at $7.13. Abrams controls ~6.5% of the business.Keryx Pharmaceuticals (KERX): KERX is a small ~1.5% of the portfolio position established in Q3 2015 at prices between $3.38 and $10.50. The stock currently trades at $6.23. Q4 2015 saw a ~10% increase while the following quarter saw another ~4% increase.Note: Seth Klarman (Baupost Group) has a huge ownership stake in KERX. KERX had a $125M capital raise in October 2015 in a private placement transaction with Baupost (zero-coupon convertible notes due 2020 with $3.74 conversion price). The implied dilution takes Klarman’s ownership to around ~43% of the business.Manitowoc Foodservice Inc. (MFS): The large (top-five) ~9% MFS stake was acquired as a result of the spin-off of Manitowoc Foodservice from Manitowoc Company in February. Abrams held MTW shares for which they received MFS shares in the ratio 1:1. MFS started trading at ~$12 and currently goes for $17.90. It has returned ~40% in nine months.Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): MSFT is the second-largest stake at 14.24% of the US long portfolio. It was established in Q1 2014 at prices between $36 and $40.50 and increased by ~45% in Q3 2014 at prices between $42.50 and $47.50. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at $60.53.MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI): MGI is a 1.81% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2014 at prices between $8 and $13. It was increased by ~90% in Q1 2015 at prices between $8 and $9.50 and another ~17% the following quarter at prices between $7.50 and $10.50. The stock currently trades at $10.87. Abrams controls ~10% of the business.Northstar Asset Management (NSAM) and Northstar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF): NSAM is a large (top five) ~7% of the 13F portfolio stake established in Q1 2016 at prices between $9.31 and $12.14 and increased by ~38% last quarter at ~$10.60. The stock currently trades at $14.94. Abrams controls ~5.8% of NSAM. NRF is a ~2% portfolio position purchased in Q1 2016 at prices between $8.57 and $17 and the stock is now at $15.26.Note: Northstar Asset Management, Northstar Realty Finance, and Colony Capital (CLNY) are combining.Opus Bank Irvine (OPB): OPB is a 1.85% of the US long portfolio position. It had an IPO in April 2014 at $30 per share. Prior to the IPO, Abrams had an ownership stake of just below 10% in the business and that got converted into equity. Q3 2015 saw a ~10% trimming at prices between $34.50 and $40 and that was followed with a ~22% reduction the following quarter at prices between $36 and $40. There was another one-third reduction last quarter at prices between $31.50 and $38. The stock currently trades at $24.90.VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP): VIP is a 3.24% of the US long portfolio position established in Q1 2015 at prices between $3.40 and $5.50 and increased by ~70% the following quarter at prices between $5 and $6.50. Q3 2015 saw a stake doubling at prices between $4 and $6 and that was followed with a ~75% increase the following quarter at prices between $3 and $4.30. The stock currently trades at $3.34.Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC is a large ~6% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2013 at prices between $41 and $45.50. The stock currently trades well above that range at $52.62.Western Union (WU): WU is Abrams’ largest stake at 22.33% of the US long portfolio (~4.2% of the business). The position was first purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $16 and $19.50 and increased by ~23% in Q2 2014 at prices between $15.25 and $17.25. The stock currently trades above those ranges at $21.48.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Abrams’ US stock holdings in Q3 2016:13G/D, Form 3/4 thru 8/15/2016: 13G 7/5/2016 NSAM - 10.31M shares - 5.45%. 13G 5/20/2016 OZM - 9.27M shares - 5.11%.13G/D, Form 3/4 thru 5/17/2016: BNED 4/8/2016 Form 4 - ~9.5K disposed @ $8.77. 8.77M shares remaining.13G/D, Form 3/4 thru 2/15/2016: RYAM 2/12/2016 13G/A - 0. MGI 2/12/2016 13G/A - 5.13M shares - 9.64%. KERX 2/12/2016 13G - 5.6M shares - 5.32%. BKS 2/5/2016 13G/A - 9.93M shares - 12.99%. 2/8/2016 Form 4 shows 10.42M shares - 13.63%. MTW 1/22/2016 13G/A - 8.74M shares - 6.4%. BNED 1/14/2016 13G/A - 8.76M shares - 18.16%."