Chuck Royce Bets On Saia, Continues To Like Buckle In New 13F Filing

On Monday, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates filed its Schedule 13F with the SEC, disclosing his long equity positions as of the end of the second quarter of 2015. So, let’s take a look at some of his most interesting stakes and moves.

The Portfolio

After purchasing 59 new stocks, adding to 280 positions, closing 81, and trimming another 605 over the quarter, the fund’s equity portfolio fell in value, from roughly $26.43 billion to $23.67 billion. Most of its assets are allocated to industrials (23 percent), information technology (20 percent) and consumer discretionary (20 percent) stocks, although the fund has investments across almost all sectors.

Same as in the previous quarter, small-cap retailer Buckle Inc BKE was Royce’s most valuable stake -- as of June 30. After a 2 percent increase in its exposure, the fund disclosed ownership of 6,640,083 shares of the company, worth more than $300 million.

The bet comprises about 13.7 percent of the company’s total shares outstanding, and makes of the firm the largest institutional investor of record in the company, trailed by the Vanguard Group, which last declared holding 2,394,164 shares of Buckle.

The largest new wage was placed on another small-cap: transportation company Saia Inc SAIA. After purchasing 1,196,344 shares, or 4.83 percent of the company, the fund stands as one of the largest institutional investors of record.

Also bullish on Saia was Wedge Capital Management, which started a position in the company over the second quarter as well. The fund declared ownership of 325,163 shares of the company, representing 1.31 percent of the total shares outstanding.

On the other hand, the biggest position that Royce closed out over the quarter was the one at Partnerre Ltd PRE, a reinsurance and insurance company of which the fund held 540,227 shares as of the end of the first quarter.

Another hedge fund that seems bearish on Partnerre is Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, which also sold out its stake, comprising 360,861 shares, over the second quarter of the year.

Completing the top three stakes are MKS Instruments, Inc. MKSI and UniFirst Corp UNF, two more small-caps of which Royce owns about $250 million in stock – from each one.