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The story of Edinburgh Partners’ second largest holding, Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL), during the third quarter was quite similar to the fund’s largest holding. After seeing extreme volatility during the quarter, shares of the cruise vacation company ended the quarter almost flat. Moreover, Edinburgh Partners’ also reduced its stake in the company by 9% during the quarter to slightly more than 2 million shares valued at $100.5 million, at the end of September.  On a year-to-date basis shares of Carnival Corp (NYSE:CCL) are currently trading up by 11%, thanks largely to the more than 20% rally they saw during the May-July period. The company announced today that it will be expanding its presence in China by launching two new cruise brands in the market by 2017. Additionally, it also stated that it is exploring the possibilities of joint ventures with prominent Chinese shipping firms. Ricky Sandler‘s Eminence Capital was one of the hedge funds that increased its stake in Carnival Corp during the second quarter by purchasing an additional 18% shares and bringing its total holding to almost 3.36 million shares.

Moving on, Edinburgh Partners sold around 235,000 shares of networking giant Cisco Systems, Inc.(NASDAQ:CSCO) during the third quarter and brought its total holding in the company down to under 3 million shares. As of September 30, this stake was worth $77.86 million. Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) remained range bound for the first seven months of the year, but the severe correction they saw in August caused them to end the third quarter down by nearly 4%.  However, they have recouped most of those losses in the last few days after a series of good news. On October 5, Aquantia Corp., a semiconductor company backed by Cisco Systems, Inc.(NASDAQ:CSCO) received $37 million in its eighth round of funding in an environment where most venture capital firms are shunning semiconductor stocks. This was followed by analysts at Citigroup initiating a coverage on the stock on October 6 with a ‘Buy’ rating and $30 price target. Donald Yacktman‘s Yacktman Asset Management reduced its stake in Cisco consecutively in the first two quarter of the year by 15% and as of June 30 held slightly above 42 million shares.

Harman International Industries Inc./DE/(NYSE:HAR) represented Edinburgh Partners largest new purchase during the third quarter. The fund bought 810,920 shares of the company during the third quarter worth $77.84 million, as of June 30. After gaining almost 40% during the first four months of the year, shares of the acoustics company have had a gradual decline and are currently trading flat for the year.  Harman International Industries Inc./DE/(NYSE:HAR) is scheduled to report its fiscal 2016 first quarter earnings on October 28; analysts are expecting it to report EPS of $1.40, 10% more than the $1.18 EPS it reported for the same quarter last year. On October 7, analysts at Jefferies Group initiated a coverage on the stock with an ‘Underperform’ rating and a %90 price target, which represents a decline of more than 15% from the stock’s current trading price. Hugh Sloane‘s Sloane Robinson Investment Management was one of the hedge funds that initiated a stake in Harman International Industries Inc./DE/(NYSE:HAR) during the second quarter; it owned 71,200 shares of the company, as of June 30.

By purchasing slightly above 1.8 million shares worth $70.58 million at the end of September, Edinburgh Partners initiated a major stake in energy company Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA)  during the third quarter. Shares of Apache Corporation(NYSE:APA) mirrored the decline in oil prices and experienced a continuous fall from mid-April till September. However, they have stabilized in the past few weeks and are currently trading down 28.62% year-to-date. For the second quarter, Apache Corporation(NYSE:APA)  reported a per share loss of $0.37 on revenue of $1.82 billion, compared to analysts expectations of a per share loss of $0.57 on revenue of $1.83 billion. On Septembers 23, analysts at Oppenheimer reiterated their ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock with a price target of $57. Several analysts and experts who cover the stock feel that if oil prices don’t rebound in the near future, it will be detrimental to the financial health of the company. Ken Griffin‘s Citadel Investment Group more than doubled its stake in the company during the second quarter to above 2 million shares.

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