Let’s move on to McGuire’s top picks now, as of the end of 2014, beginning with Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK). The world’s largest custody bank remains his top pick for the second straight quarter, after he opened a huge new position on it with 17.77 million shares in the third quarter. McGuire added just under 234,000 shares to that in the fourth quarter, as shares enjoyed a strong 4.75% gain to close out the year.
However, it’s been a different story for Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK)’s shares in 2015, as they’re down 3.62% year-to-date as the company works to resolve lawsuits against it, alleging that it defrauded clients out of millions of dollars on the foreign exchange trading market. The lawsuits are expected to cost the bank close to $600 million. Fund ownership increased to 50 in the fourth quarter among the funds we track, from 42 at the close of the third quarter, with Nelson Peltz’ Trian Partners being the largest shareholder among those funds.
Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) moves into second place, moving past NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR), despite the two holdings remaining unchanged from the previous filing. Lear, the maker of automotive seating and electrical systems, has benefited from an increase to its sales of premium seating, as sales of luxury cars have likewise begun to trend upwards.
Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA) has enjoyed a very strong run of late, gaining 13.51% over the fourth quarter of 2014, and already appreciating another 12.48% in 2015. All told, Lear is up just over 140% since the beginning of 2013, with McGuire having initiated his position just before that 2+ year run, in the fourth quarter of 2012, making it an extremely lucrative one for him.
He is currently the largest shareholder of Lear among funds we track, with 3.63 million shares. Alexander Mitchell’s Scopus Asset Management, and Steve Cohen’s family office Point72 Asset Management, each held just under 1.0 million shares of Lear at the close of 2014.
Lastly is Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT) which also leapfrogged NCR Corporation (NYSE:NCR) into third on the back of its own strong quarter, which saw it soar 26.5%. McGuire’s position in Goodyear was also unchanged over the course of the fourth quarter, at 12.44 million shares, and he is also the largest shareholder of the company among funds we track. Unfortunately, it’s not a position McGuire has held for over two years, missing out on the stock’s glorious 2013, in which it gained 79.97%, as he initiated his position in the first quarter of 2014.
Despite a strong earnings report on February 11 however, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT) is down 5.04% year-to-date, as those earnings were slashed by 6% in estimates prior to their release. It has enjoyed a strong February however, making up most of the losses incurred in January, and there’s a lot to like about the stock, including a 1-year forward P/E of just 8.05.
David Tepper, despite axing many US-based stocks from his portfolio last quarter, remains a large shareholder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT), with 10.24 million shares as of December 31, 2014, though he did decrease his position by 10% during the quarter. Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital is another large shareholder, with 6.87 million shares at the end of 2014.
Disclosure: None
