"Tracking Charles Akre's Akre Capital Management Portfolio - Q4 2016 Update"
"Chuck Akre’s portfolio value increased from $5.21B to $5.45B this quarter.Akre Capital Management added Dollar General while reducing Colfax and increasing SBA Communications.The top three positions are American Tower, MasterCard, and Markel.Charles Akre’s Akre Capital Management portfolio value increased ~5% from $5.21B to $5.45B this quarter. The number of positions remained steady at 30. The largest five stakes are American Tower (AMT), MasterCard (MA), Markel Corporation (MKL), Moody’s Corporation (MCO), and CarMax (KMX) and they together account for ~46% of the total portfolio value.Akre coined the term "compounding machines" to describe the type of businesses he invests in. To learn more about that investing style, check out .Below are the portfolio highlights:American Tower (AMT), MasterCard, and Markel Corporation (MKL): American Tower and Markel positions have been in the portfolio for over sixteen years. AMT is the largest stake at ~14% while MA & MKL are at ~9% of the portfolio each. The MasterCard position was first purchased in 2010 in the low-20s price-range and it currently trades at ~$111. The stake saw increases every year thru 2015 but has been kept relatively steady. AMT saw a ~5% increase this quarter while MA & MKL were marginally reduced.Moody’s Corporation (MCO) and Dollar Tree (DLTR): The initial purchase of MCO happened in Q1 & Q2 2012 in the high-30s price-range. Since then, the position has been doubled at higher prices. It currently trades at $113. This quarter saw a ~15% increase at prices between $94 and $109. DLTR was first purchased in 2010 at a cost-basis in the low-20s. The stock currently trades at $75.22. The position was kept relatively steady last year although previous years have seen significant buying.Visa Inc. (V): V is a fairly large ~5% of the portfolio stake. It was established in Q2 2012 at a cost-basis of around $30. Q2 2013 saw a one-third increase at a cost-basis in the low-40s. Q2 2016 saw a huge ~60% increase at prices between $73 and $82. The stock is now at ~$89.06. There was a marginal increase this quarter.Roper Technologies (ROP): ROP is a fairly large 5.24% of the portfolio position first purchased in Q2 & Q3 2014 at prices between $129 and $150. The stake saw incremental buying in the following quarters as well. Q2 2016 saw another ~20% increase at prices between $165 and $185. The stock is now at $212. There was marginal trimming this quarter.CarMax Inc. (KMX): The ~6% KMX stake is a very long-term position first purchased in 2002. The bulk of the current stake was built over the four quarters thru Q2 2016 at prices between $42 and $68. The stock is now at ~$63.81.Colfax Corp. (CFX): The medium-sized ~3% CFX position was first purchased in Q3 2012 and built up over the last four years at prices between $20 and $75. Q2 2016 saw an about-turn: ~20% reduction at prices between $25 and $34. There was another ~23% selling this quarter at prices between $29 and $40. The stock is now at $38.41.Note: Akre Capital Management has a ~9% ownership stake in Enstar Group (ESGR) and a ~6% ownership of Primo Water (PRMW).Below is a spreadsheet that highlights the changes to Charles Akre's Akre Capital Management US long stock portfolio as of Q4 2016. Please check out  to have an idea on how the portfolio is progressing:To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of cloning hedge fund picks, check out our book ."