Stocks Bought in Q3

YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF)

– Shares Bought During Q3: 6.00 million
– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $92.70 million

– Q4 Return (through December 14): -6.86%

– Trailing P/E Ratio: 4.60

Baupost opened a new position in Argentinean energy company YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) during Q3 following a steep 31% decline in the stock during the first-half of 2018. Baupost may have also been attracted by the state-owned company’s Q3 announcement that it would seek to sell as much as $500 million in bonds to fuel its aggressive expansion efforts.

Univar Inc. (NYSE:UNVR)

– Shares Bought During Q3: 1.77 million
– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $54.30 million

– Q4 Return (through December 14): -39.17%

– Trailing P/E Ratio: 13.37

Baupost’s new stake in chemical distributor Univar Inc. (NYSE:UNVR) has gotten off to a rocky start, as the stock has lost nearly 40% in Q4. Baupost may have been compelled to buy shares after Univar announced in September that it will acquire Nexeo Solutions for $1.05 billion in a deal valued at $2 billion including debt. The transaction is expected to close by the first-half of next year and boost Univar’s earnings and free cash flow within its first full year.

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOX)

– Shares Bought During Q3: 3.71 million
– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $794 million

– Q4 Return (through December 14): +5.89%

– Trailing P/E Ratio: 18.64

– Forward Dividend Yield: 0.73%

One of the 10 Most Conservative Companies in America, Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOX) has two classes of shares, each of which were owned in great quantities by Baupost at the end of Q3, with the fund boosting the size of both positions during the quarter as well. Its stake in FOXA remains its largest by a factor of well over 2, being valued at $2.41 billion. Baupost was up by 5.1% in the first-half of this year thanks to a 20% surge in Fox’s share price during June courtesy of the escalating bidding war for its entertainment assets between Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

Stocks Sold in Q3

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)

– Shares Sold During Q3: 9.48 million
– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $0

– Q4 Return (through December 14): -10.01%

– Trailing P/E Ratio: 5.72

– Forward Dividend Yield: 6.62%

AT&T may be one of the 30 Stocks Billionaires Are Crazy About, but Seth Klarman is no longer part of that group. Baupost sold off its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) during the third quarter, which had been valued at over $304 million on June 30. That represented a quick exit from the position, which had just been bought in Q2.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

– Shares Sold During Q3: 12.96 million
– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $508 million

– Q4 Return (through December 14): -22.46%

– Trailing P/E Ratio: 7.66

– Forward Dividend Yield: 3.49%

Lastly, Baupost sold off 12.96 million shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during Q3, which amounted to 44% of the position it held on June 30. Baupost still owns $508 million worth of Synchrony shares as of September 30 and has owned the stock since the third quarter of 2016.

Disclosure: None.