Friday, June 13, 2008

Citation

Anheuser-Busch Acknowledges Receipt of Unsolicited Proposal from Inbev. Anheuser-Busch
Press Releases. http://www.anheuser-busch.com/Press/ABAcknowledgesinBev.html

Bokaie, J. (2008, May 28). Brands seek functional water lift, Marketing. p. 4.

Buffett, W. (2007). Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Shareholder Letters. Retrieved from:
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2007ltr.pdf

Coogan, J. (2008, June 10) US STOCKS – Dow rises on Coca-Cola, inflation worries weigh.
Reuters. Retrieved from:
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1037401520080610

Heher, A. (2008, June 12). Top dog: Rivalry between Kraft, Sara Lee heats up.
Associated Press.

Isdell, N. (2008). Attacking the Olympics Won’t Help Darfur. Company Statements. The
Coca-Cola Company, Inc. Press Releases. Retrieved from: http://www.thecoca-
colacompany.com/presscenter/viewpoints_isdell_darfur.html

Melander, I. & Ponthus, J. (2008, June 12) InBev courts Anheuser-Bush with mega-bid
Reuters. Retrieved from:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/business/story.html?id=c3bc97dc-
5921-4661-9343-6ffc6a160c34

Profile for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from Yahoo Finance.
Web site: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=bud

Profile for The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from Yahoo Finance Website:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=KO

Profile for Kraft Foods, Inc.. Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from Yahoo Finance Website:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=KFT

Profile for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from MarketWatch. Web
site: http://www.marketwatch.com/Quotes/bud

Profile for the Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from MarketWatch. Website:
http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/estimates.asp?symb=KO&sid=1272

Profile for the Kraft Foods, Inc. Retrieved: June 11, 2008 from MarketWatch. Website:
http://www.marketwatch.com/quotes/kft/?dist=DNH_S

Profile for Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Retrieved from MSN Money. Website:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=BUD&getquote=Get+Quote

Profile for The Coca-Cola Company, Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2008 from MSN Money. Website:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=KO&getquote=Get+Quote

Profile for Kraft Foods, Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2008 from MSN Money. Website:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=kft&getquote=Get+Quote

Woyke. E. (2008) Buffett, the Wal-Mart Shopper, Business week, 40(34), 66-67

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (BUD)


Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is a Delaware corporation that was organized in 1979 as the holding company parent of Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated, a Missouri corporation whose origins date back to 1875” (Market Watch). Anheuser-Busch has a principal product of beer, with the brand names of Budweiser, Michelob, Busch, and Natural. Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is also “active in the family entertainment industry” through nine theme parks (MarketWatch).

The average analyst recommendation is a hold for this stock.

In a press release on their website, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. announced on June 11, that they had received a proposal from Inbev to “acquire all of the outstanding shared for Anheuser-Busch for $65 per share in cash” (Anheuser-Bush press release).

The stock price should hover around the offer price from Inbev. If the stocks trade above $65 a share, that is the market saying the expect a higher offer from Inbev. In the same vein, if the stock trades lower than $65 a share, they don’t believe the offer will happen.

Kraft Foods, Inc (KFT)


Kraft Foods, Inc. manufactures and markets packaged foods and beverages. Their products include snacks, juices, and powdered beverages. They also offer grocery items, such as cereals and desserts, as well as packaged dinners, lunch and processed meats and cheeses (Yahoo Finance). Brand names include: Kraft cheeses, Oscar Mayer meats, Philadelphia cream cheese, Maxwell House, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Oreo and more than 50 other brands (Yahoo Finance).

The 52 week low for Kraft Foods, Inc was $28.63, the high was $37.20.
The dividend is 1.08. The beta value is .61. the earnings per share is 1.59.

Kraft foods reported a 20 percent increase in 2008 first quarter sales over the same time period in 2007.

The Coca Cola Company (KO)


The Coca-Cola Company was founded in 1886 and is currently headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. This company manufactures, distributes and markets “beverage concentrates and syrups worldwide” (Yahoo Finance). The Coca-Cola Company is best known for the beverage simply known as: Coke. It also produces and markets Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite (Yahoo Finance).

The Coca-Cola Company has a dividend of 1.52.
The beta value is .64 and earnings per share is 2.66.

Analysts recommend buying The Coca-Cola company. The Coca-Cola Company is increasing attention into bottled water sales. This company had a 52 week high of $65.69 and a low of $51.96.

With the approaching Olympic games, in Beijing China, Coca-Cola is in a prime spot for additional marketing and public relations, as one of the key sponsors of the Olympic Games. Isdell (2008) the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer issued a press release on the corporate social responsibility of the Coca-Cola Company and its efforts to help the citizens of Darfur. These Olympic Games have been especially contentious and while The Coca-Cola Company has shared in some of the grief and frustration from the protestors, they are making every effort to make responsible and informed decisions and are helping the people of Darfur and the Sudan, by committing at least $5 million in support to nonprofits and NGO’s dedicated to finding clean water and building sustainable water and sanitation projects (Isdell, 2008). I believe this type of leadership and corporate social responsibility is important for all companies to engage in and I am especially impressed with the decision of The Coca-Cola Company to be so dedicated to this important issue.

My investment strategy

After consulting several business resources, I feel I would identify most with the value investing paradigm. This type of investing looks at the fundamentals of a business instead of the charts and graphs investing and looks at what a company who have stocks that appear to be under-priced. After identifying the type of investor, I feel I am, I looked at the individuals who are also identified as “value investors”. The biggest and most successful name is Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett.

Like Buffett, I also like the idea of getting “brand names at bargain prices” (Woyke, 2007, p. 66) and this especially rings true with my investment strategy. As Woyke (2007) mentions certain stocks have a “very Buffett-like quality” and since Warren Buffett is one of the richest men in the world, it only makes sense to try and mimic his investment style.

For this assignment, all the companies in which I purchased stock are owned by Warren Buffett.

Annotated Bibliography

Browne, C. (2007). The Little Book of Value Investing. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Dorsey, P. & Mansueto, J., (2004). The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing:
Morningstar’s Guide to Building Wealth and Winning in the Market. New Jersey:
John Wiley and Sons.

Buffett, W. & Cunninham, L. (2008). The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate
America, Second Edition.. New York : McGraw-Hill

Dreman, D. (1998). Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation . New York:
Simon and Schuster.

Fisher, P. (2003). Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings. New Jersey:
John Wiley and Sons.

Graham, B. (1949). The Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing. New
York: Harper Collins.

Greenblatt, J. (1997). You can be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places
of
Stock Market Profits. New York: Fireside.

Greenblatt, J. (2006). The Little Book that Beats the Market. New Jersey: John Wiley and
Sons.

Greenwald, B., Kahn, J., Sonkin, P, & van Biema, M. (2001). Value Investing: From Graham
to Buffett and Beyond. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Hagstrom, R.. (2005). The Warren Buffett Way, Second Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley
and Sons.

Hagstrom, R (1999). The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Mastering the Power of the Focus
Investment Strategy
. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Kelly, J. (2007). The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing. New York: Penguin
Group.

Lowe, J. (2007). Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Greatest
Investor. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.

Malkiel, B. (2007). A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for
Successful Investing, Ninth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.

Tier, M. (2005). The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros. New
York: St. Martin’s Press.