Billionaire Larry Robbins Has Mixed Sentiment On His Top Picks For Q4

Glenview Capital, led by Larry Robbins, recently submitted its 13F with the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing the long positions held in its portfolio at the end of the third quarter. The value of the fund’s public equity portfolio stood at $20.2 billion at that time. Glenview Capital, founded by Robbins in 2001, returned over 300% from its founding until 2010, by holding a diversified portfolio, but one majority focused on healthcare. According to the latest filing, Glenview initiated new positions in eight stocks, while it sold out of stakes in 11 companies. In this article, we will be analyzing Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) and Glenview’s four other top stocks.

#5 Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 75.13 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $791.88 million

Robbins’ stake in Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) remained flat over the third quarter. Based in Singapore, Flextronics International is engaged in making intelligent products for a connected world. It has a market cap of $6.25 billion and does not pay a dividend. The company’s stock has gained 11.51% during the last three months. Last week, Michael M. McNamara, the chief executive officer of Flextronics International, unloaded a total of 483,675 shares of the company at an average price of $11.10. McNamara now owns 2.93 million shares of the company. In addition, on November 16 Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) announced that it agreed to acquire Wink, the smart home platform enabling smart products to work together seamlessly, and connect and communicate globally, for an undisclosed amount. The deal, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close this month. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management owned 11.97 million shares of Flextronics at the end of the third quarter.

#4 AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 16.17 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $879.86 million

Glenview’s current position in biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) represents a decrease of 1.69 million shares quarter-over-quarter. The company reported better-than-expected third quarter results, with its profit increasing to $1.24 billion compared to $506 million a year earlier. Sales grew by 8.40% year-over-year to $5.94 billion. Furthermore, AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) announced a five-year growth plan that is expected to have a positive impact on the company’s stock, which has lost 3.66% during the last three months. The company expects its sales to reach about $37 billion by 2020. Baker Bros. Advisors, run by Julian Baker and Felix Baker, also sees potential in AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV), holding 14.37 million shares of it as of the end of September.

On the next page, we will talk about Glenview’s top three stocks.

#3 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 8.51 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.04 billion

Glenview cut its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) by 748,506 shares during the quarter. Thermo Fisher Scientific recorded a decrease in third quarter operating income to $563 million, compared to $640 million in the same quarter of last year, while it booked revenue of $4.1 billion, compared to $4.2 billion a year ago. For full-year 2015, the company raised its EPS guidance to a range of $7.33-to-$7.41 from the previously announced range of $7.28-to-$7.41. Recently, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of $1 billion of shares of its common stock in the open market or in negotiated transactions. This share repurchase authorization replaces the existing authorization, in which there was about $410 million remaining, and the company intends to resume share repurchases in 2016. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)’s stock has increased by 10.11% year-to-date. Another investor betting big on Thermo Fisher Scientific is Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management, which held 4.40 million Thermo Fisher shares at the end of the third quarter.

#2 Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 13.50 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.15 billion

Glenview was bullish on Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) during the third quarter, adding 2.43 million shares to its holding. Recently, Monsanto Company inked accelerated share repurchase agreements with Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, to $3 billion of the company’s common stock, with an aggregate initial delivery of about 28.4 million shares, based on current market prices. The share repurchase is expected to be completed in the next six months. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) booked a loss of $495 million compared to a loss of $156 million in the same period of last year. For the full fiscal year 2015, the company reported net income of about $2.3 billion compared to income of $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2014. Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON)’s stock has been struggling this year, dropping by 20.01%. Another investor that likes Monsanto Company is John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp, which held 3.69 million shares as of the end of September.

#1 Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM)

– Shares held (as of September 30): 6.64 million

– Total Value (as of September 30): $1.19 billion

Robbins upped his stake in Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) by 68,423 shares during the previous quarter. In July, Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) for $125 in cash and 0.8375 of an Aetna common share. The acquisition, approved by both companies’ stockholders, is subject to customary closing conditions. If approved, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2016. For the quarter ended September 30, Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) reported earnings per common share of $2.09, versus $1.85 for the same quarter last year. For the first nine months of 2015, it pulled in EPS of $7.77, up from $6.39 in the same period of last year. Humana’s shares has been performing well, increasing by 17.25% year-to-date. Another investor betting big on Humana is Matthew Halbower’s Pentwater Capital Management, holding 1.88 million shares as of the end of September.

Disclosure: None