Locust Wood Boosts Exposure to These Companies

Locust Wood Capital Advisers increased its stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) by 30% over the quarter to 401,780 shares worth $31 million as of the end of December. The payment processing giant with a market value of $209 billion has performed extremely well since its IPO. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is valued highly by investors given the duopoly in payments that it enjoys along with Mastercard. The stock is trading close to its all-time high of $806 and has a relatively high P/E of 40 and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Visa Inc (NYSE:V) last reported quarterly revenue of $4.5 billion and EPS of $0.86 beating analyst expectations of $4.3 billion and $0.78, respectively. A total of 115 funds from our database held shares of Visa at the end of September, versus 118 funds at the end of June, although the value of their holdings appreciated to $102 billion from $93 billion quarter over quarter.

In Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI), Locust Wood Capital Advisers bought 458,070 shares, having increased its holding to 727,060 shares worth $30 million at the end of the last quarter. Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI) merged with Tyco International last year and moved its new headquarters to Ireland to lower its overall tax payments. The company reported revenue of $7.09 billion for the last quarter and EPS of $0.53, versus analyst estimates of $7.15 billion and $0.52, respectively. Johnson Controls International plc (NYSE:JCI)’s stock has advanced by 18% over the last 12 months. At the end of September, 55 funds from our database amassed long positions in the company, significantly higher compared to 32 funds three months earlier, while the value of their positions surged to $2.8 billion from $1.1 billion.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers added 99,090 shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) to its 13F portfolio during the October-December period and reported ownership of 368,113 shares worth $28.6 million. Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)’s stock has inched down by 3.5% over the last 52 weeks. The company reported earnings of $1.05 per share for the December quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03, while its revenue of $4.6 billion was higher than estimates of $4.54 billion. There were 54 funds tracked by us that amassed $1.99 billion worth of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)’s shares at the end of September, compared to 54 funds with stakes long $2.36 billion in aggregate a quarter earlier.

Disclosure: None