The Maestro's Movers: Neil Woodford's Big Buys and Sells in April 2016

Stock stalking is a weird hobby.

In general I do not "follow" any particular investor's activities. However, there are a couple that I have followed of sorts because I like their investment style. One of them is Neil Woodford

I watch Woodford's fund quite carefully to get some ideas. In particular, doing this with Woodford is comparatively easy as--I am sure many of you know this--he publishes the entire breakdown of his fund each month. Very unusual, but also very interesting.

Since launch I have been assiduously collecting this data and building a little spreadsheet to see how things are changing. I've realised that this work--which is not a tiny amount--may be of interest to some of you.

So here I will offer a little breakdown of the companies that Woodford has bought and sold in April 2016.

Church & Dwight (CHD): Attractively Valued Despite First Appearances?

Is Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) attractively valued today? The flat answer from many people would be: "No." After all, with a historic PE nearing 28.5 and even a forward PE seeing it north of 25 in 2017 it is hard to come to that conclusion on first impressions:

Yet as my analyses of the company back in February and earlier this week on their Q1 2016 results on Seeking Alpha show, this is a quality company that certainly deserves a premium. As a result, it is hard not fall into the same opinion as a previous commenter on my February article:

This is one of those rare stocks that at least so far, you can buy pretty much anytime, and if you hold for a few years or more, you come out with a very nice rate of return.

Could it be, however, that despite first appearances it is an ideal time to pick up shares in this consumer defensive star? Here I take a look at three valuation methods and see what fair value prices come out of them. Let's get started.

The Maestro's Movers: Neil Woodford's Big Buys and Sells in March 2016

Stock stalking is a weird hobby.

In general I do not "follow" any particular investor's activities. However, there are a couple that I have followed of sorts because I like their investment style. One of them is Neil Woodford

I watch Woodford's fund quite carefully to get some ideas. In particular, doing this with Woodford is comparatively easy as--I am sure many of you know this--he publishes the entire breakdown of his fund each month. Very unusual, but also very interesting.

Since launch I have been assiduously collecting this data and building a little spreadsheet to see how things are changing. I've realised that this work--which is not a tiny amount--may be of interest to some of you.

So here I will offer a little breakdown of the companies that Woodford has bought and sold in March 2016.

The Maestro's Movers: Neil Woodford's Big Buys and Sells in February 2016

Stock stalking is a weird hobby.

In general I do not "follow" any particular investor's activities. However, there are a couple that I have followed of sorts because I like their investment style. One of them is Neil Woodford

I watch Woodford's fund quite carefully to get some ideas. In particular, doing this with Woodford is comparatively easy as--I am sure many of you know this--he publishes the entire breakdown of his fund each month. Very unusual, but also very interesting.

Since launch I have been assiduously collecting this data and building a little spreadsheet to see how things are changing. I've realised that this work--which is not a tiny amount--may be of interest to some of you.

So here I will offer a little breakdown of the companies that Woodford has bought and sold in February 2016.

February Stock Analysis Update: My Most Popular New and Old Investment Reports

This site is chiefly for following my own personal investment journey. Elsewhere, however, I write material which provides fundamental analysis of some stocks that have interested me. 

Some of you may find some of them of interest and so I thought I would include a monthly update on my write-ups. A full list of my analysis articles (sorted by company name) can be found on my dedicated "Stock Analysis" page.

So what have I written about in the last month and what has remained a popular read? Let's take a quick look. 

Barclays (BARC) to Cut Dividend by nearly 55% in 2016 and 2017 - What To Do Now?

Sad news! Barclays' (BARC) final results for 2015 did not read well for dividend investors. I have been invested in the banking giant since January 2014.

Since then my investment tick list has changed dramatically which would have seen all of my banking holdings--HSBC (HSBA), Banco Santander (BNC), as well as Barclays--fail to make the cut.

For those of you who have been reading some of my recent analysis articles on Seeking Alpha and elsewhere you will see what I mean. Now my investing philosophy is focused on cash generation. In particular, I have focused on a specific metric: CROIC (cash return on invested capital).

At some point I plan to write a fuller article on this change of philosophy and how it affects my portfolio going forward. Already I have been using it in making a number of decisions about new additions and replacements. These have not been written up as yet as I want to do an updated "my investing philosophy" post first to get the basics set out first.

Something for another day, I think!

Nonetheless, this changed philosophy means that all three banking holdings have been, I suppose, on borrowed time in my portfolio.

As it happens, however, these three had stayed as I still believe they have attractions. Yes, I may not have added them to my portfolio today but I have not felt moved to jettison them either. Even Banco Santander's dividend cut last year did not move me to sell.

Now Barclays is set to join the same ignominious rank as Banco Santander in my portfolio: a dividend cutter.

Coca-Cola's (KO) 3% Dividend Yield Is Just The Beginning - The Power of the Buyback Is Clear

I am, as you probably know, a fan of beverage companies. One of my largest holdings is Diageo (DGE) which I last topped-up in December and recently analysed over on Seeking Alpha.

However, I also hold soft-drinks maker Britvic (BVIC) which I bought in April 2015. Soft drinks remain, for me, a very attractive prospect. But you can't look at the sector without your eye turning to the mother of all soft-drinks makers: Coca-Cola (KO).

Coca-Cola continues to impress even in the face of fairly flat volume growth and modest but consistent underlying (that is, constant currency) revenue growth. A large part of this reason is its remarkably rewarding attitude towards shareholders' return. This is an issue I have only recently looked at in more depth. But I am glad I did.