Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they've bought and sold. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.
Today let's look at Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, one of the biggest value-focused institutional investment companies around, with more than $50 billion in assets as of March 31, 2012. According to the folks at GuruFocus.com, from 1996 to 2011, Barrow, Hanley racked up a cumulative gain of 178%, compared with just 124% for the S&P 500.
The company aims to invest via portfolios that maintain below-average price-to-earnings ratios, below-average price-to-book ratios, and above-market-average dividend yields. It also tends to focus on large-cap companies.
The company's top holdings as of March 31 were Philip Morris International, ConocoPhillips, and American Express.
Interesting developments
So what does Barrow, Hanley's latest quarterly 13-F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
New holdings include CA Technologies
Among holdings in which Barrow, Hanley increased its stake are New York Community Bancorp
Synovus recently beat analysts' earnings estimates. But it hasn't yet paid back its $1 billion TARP loan, and also stated that the repayment was "not a near-term event." It has been improving its financial condition but needs to ramp up its earnings somehow.
Barrow, Hanley reduced its stake in a handful of companies, including commercial printer R. R. Donnelly & Sons
Finally, Barrow, Hanley unloaded several companies entirely, such as energy concern EXCO Resources
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We should never blindly copy any investor's moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.