"Tracking David Abrams’ Abrams Capital Management Portfolio – Q2 2016 Update"
"David Abrams’ 13F portfolio decreased this quarter from $2.12B to $1.91B. The number of positions decreased from 18 to 17.Abrams Capital Management increased Northstar Asset Management during the quarter.The top-three positions are Western Union, Franklin Resources, and Microsoft Corporation and they add up to ~49% 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 08/12/2016. Please visit our  article for an idea on his investment philosophy and our  for the fund's moves during Q1 2016.This quarter, Abrams’ US long portfolio decreased 9.57% from $2.12B to $1.91B. The number of holdings decreased from 18 to 17. The top three stakes are at 48.81% of the 13F portfolio while the top five holdings are at 66.02%. The largest position by far is Western Union and it accounts for 21.65% of the US long portfolio.Stake Disposals:InterXion Holding NV (INXN): INXN was a 3.84% of the US long portfolio position established in Q3 2014 at prices between $26.58 and $29.01. It was increased by ~190% in Q4 2014 at prices between $24.97 and $28.60. The disposal this quarter happened at prices between $33.54 and $38.62. The stock currently trades at $37.83. Abrams harvested gains.Time Warner Cable (TWC): A 6.39% stake in TWC was purchased in Q4 2015 at prices between $179 and $192 as a merger-arbitrage position. Charter Communications (CHTR) acquired TWC in a cash-and-stock deal and the transaction closed in May. The 13F does not list any shares of CHTR - the shares received were liquidated in the open market before the quarter ended.New Stakes:Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZM): OZM is a medium-sized 3.05% portfolio stake established this quarter at prices between $3.30 and $4.35. The stock is now at $3.62.Note: Abrams controls ~8.5% of the business.Stake Decreases:Opus Bank Irvine (OPB): OPB is a 1.86% 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 $34.56 and $39.75 and that was followed with a ~22% reduction the following quarter at prices between $36 and $40. There was another one-third reduction this quarter at prices between $31.72 and $37.92. The stock currently trades at $32.91.Stake Increases:Northstar Asset Management (NSAM): NSAM is a fairly large 5.82% of the 13F portfolio stake established last quarter at prices between $9.31 and $12.14 and increased by ~38% this quarter at prices between $10.04 and $12.92. The stock currently trades at $11.90.Note: Abrams controls ~5.8% of the business.Barnes & Noble Education Inc. (BNED): BNED is a 4.65% 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 $11.80 and $14.93. Q4 2015 saw a further ~15% increase at prices between $8.70 and $15.27. The stock currently trades at $12.03. There was a ~7% further increase last quarter at prices between $8.73 and $11.39 and a marginal increase this quarter.Kept Steady:Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS): BKS is a fairly large 6.18% 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. Last four quarters saw a combined ~150% increase at prices between $7.33 and $12.45. 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 $13.35.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 $6.81.Franklin Resources (BEN): BEN is a large (top-three) 13.85% of the 13F portfolio position established in Q4 2015 at prices between $35 and $42 and increased by ~51% last quarter at prices between $31.45 and $39. The stock currently trades at $35.53. For investors attempting to follow Abrams, BEN is a good option to consider for further research.Global Eagle Entertainment (ENT): ENT is a 1.73% of the US long portfolio position first purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $9.12 and $15.66 and increased by two-thirds in Q3 2014 at prices between $9.60 and $13.75. The stock currently trades below the low end of his purchase price ranges at $8.77. Abrams controls ~6.5% of the business.Keryx Pharmaceuticals (KERX): KERX is a small 1.98% of the portfolio position established in Q3 2015 at prices between $3.38 and $10.31. The stock currently trades at $4.29. Q4 2015 saw a ~10% increase while last 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) 10.36% MFS stake was acquired as a result of the spin-off of Manitowoc Foodservice from Manitowoc Company. Abrams held MTW shares for which they received MFS shares in the ratio 1:1. MFS started trading at ~$12 and currently goes for $17.33. It has returned ~37% in six months.Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): MSFT is the third-largest stake at 13.31% of the US long portfolio. It was established in Q1 2014 at prices between $36 and $40.30 and increased by ~45% in Q3 2014 at prices between $42.74 and $47.52. The stock currently trades well above those ranges at $57.94.MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI): MGI is a 1.84% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2014 at prices between $8.15 and $12.93. It was increased by ~89% in Q1 2015 at prices between $7.93 and $9.44 and another ~17% the following quarter at prices between $7.75 and $10.61. The stock currently trades below those ranges at $7.34. Abrams controls ~10% of the business.Northstar Realty Finance Corp. (NRF): NRF is a ~2% portfolio position purchased last quarter at prices between $8.57 and $17 and the stock is now at $13.09.TICC Capital Corp. (TICC): TICC is a minutely small 0.01% of portfolio position established last quarter at prices between $4.42 and $6.11. The stock currently trades at $6.04.VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP): VIP is a 3.80% of the US long portfolio position established in Q1 2015 at prices between $3.43 and $5.61 and increased by ~69% the following quarter at prices between $4.95 and $6.37. Q3 2015 saw a stake doubling at prices between $4.09 and $5.97 and that was followed with a 78% increase the following quarter at prices between $3.01 and $4.30. The stock currently trades at $4.41.Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC is a top-five 6.85% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2013 at prices between $41.30 and $45.50. The stock currently trades just outside that range at $47.90.Western Union (WU): WU is Abrams’ largest stake at 21.65% of the US long portfolio (~4.2% of the business). The position was first purchased in Q4 2013 at prices between $16.37 and $19.29 and increased by ~23% in Q2 2014 at prices between $15.25 and $17.25. The stock currently trades at $20.97.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Abrams’ US stock holdings in Q2 2016:"