Locust Wood Capital’s Top Stock Picks For Q4

#3 Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN)

Shares Owned by Locust Wood Capital Advisers (as of September 30): 144,580 shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $39.30 Million

Locust Wood initiated a substantial stake in Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN) [formerly Actavis PLC] during the July-September period, making the company its third-largest equity holding in the process. After rising gradually throughout the first seven months of the year, the stock of Allergan PLC (NYSE:AGN) has been crushed since the start of August. However, it has recovered significantly since the news broke last month that the company is in early talks with pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) concerning a possible merger. On November 4, Allergan PLC declared its third quarter earnings, reporting EPS of $3.48 on revenue of $4.10 billion. The Street was expecting the company to report EPS of $3.18 on revenue of $5.71 billion. Clifford Fox’s Columbus Circle Investors reduced its stake in the company by 89,319 shares to 836,352 shares during the third quarter.

#2 McDonald’s Corporation(NYSE:MCD)

Shares Owned by Locust Wood Capital Advisers (as of September 30): 464,587 shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $45.78 Million

The big bet that Locust Wood made on McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by adding an additional 48% or 151,477 shares of the company to its holding during the third quarter seems to be working out nicely, with the stock of the company registering gains of more than 14% during October and continuing to hold on to those gains in November. A large part of these gains came after the company announced better-than-expected numbers for its third quarter on October 22, after many disappointing quarters. While analysts had expected the company to report EPS of $1.28 on revenue of $6.41 billion, it reported EPS of $1.40 on revenue of $6.62 billion. Analysts at Cowen and Company increased their price target on the stock of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) to $112 from $103, on November 6. Zach Schreiber‘s Point State Capital also initiated a stake in the company during the second quarter by purchasing over 4.55 million shares.

#1 Liberty Ventures (NASDAQ:LVNTA)

Shares Owned by Locust Wood Capital Advisers (as of September 30): 2.07 million shares

Value of Holding (as of September 30): $83.69 Million

Finally, Locust Wood Capital Advisers purchased an additional 824,758 shares of Liberty Ventures (NASDAQ:LVNTA) during the third quarter, making the company its top holding for that period. Liberty Ventures consists of several subsidiaries of Liberty Interactive Group (NASDAQ:QVCA) and the minority stake that Liberty Interactive Group (NASDAQ:QVCA) holds in a large number of companies. Owing to the rally Liberty Ventures (NASDAQ:LVNTA)’s stock had during the first five months of the year, it is still trading up by 11.74% year-to-date despite some volatility in recent months. On October 1, Liberty Interactive completed its acquisition of zulily, acquiring all of the remaining shares of the company. Barry Rosenstein’s JANA Partners was one of the largest shareholders of Liberty Interactive Group(NASDAQ:QVCA) at the end of second quarter, owning over 8.0 million shares.

Disclosures: None