Investing is mostly about making money, and investing in safe assets often provides a stable return that unfortunately does not yield much. Investing in shares is perceived as being riskier, but with the right selection, shares can provide higher long-term returns.
One strategy that has worked very well is investing in expensive shares. The term expensive is typically used by analysts to denote shares that are overvalued. It is also commonly used for those shares that trade at a high price. Typically, these are stable, successful companies; there has to be a reason why these shares keep on trading at high prices.
Investors often overlook these shares because they are reluctant to hold one or two shares in a company. From an investment point of view, the investment rationale and outlook should always be higher than any cosmetic consideration. However, the record of accomplishment is an important consideration and few companies in the world come with a better pedigree then the following.
Intuitive Surgical
$664 per share
3-year performance 73%
Intuitive Surgical’s stock trades in NASDAQ. This American company makes robotic surgical systems. ISRG was founded in 1995. It raised $45 million from its Initial Public Offering in 2000. Intuitive Surgical’s share price has risen steadily since.
Amazon.com
$810 per share
3-year performance 103%
Based in Seattle, Amazon.com is America’s largest e-commerce. It sells a range of products including electronics, video games, software, apparel, food, furniture, toys, and jewellery. The company also makes consumer electronics items like the famous Kindle e-book readers and Fire tablets. Amazon is the also the leading player in the cloud infrastructure services market.
Alphabet Inc.
$827 per share
3-year performance 48%
Alphabet Inc. is the new name of Google after it restructured in August 2015. The company’s Class C shares trade in NASDAQ. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Starting off as a search engine, Google has today branched into the fields of computer software, health care, telecommunications equipment, venture capital, and biotechnology.
Autozone
$782 per share
3-year performance 64%
Autozone’s stock trades in the NYSE and this company is a leading retailer of aftermarket automobile parts and accessories. Its head offices are located in Memphis and the company was launched in 1979. Today, Autozone has more than 5200 retail shops. The company was known as Auto Shack in its earlier form, as it was also a wholesale grocer. But it divested the grocery business and changed its name to Autozone.
Markel Corporation
$891 per share
3-year performance 54%
Markel Corporation is a financial holding company that was founded in 1930. The company has an interesting origin. In 1920, a new law mandated that all buses and taxis should be insured. Markel was not able to find an insurance company for the purpose, so he founded a mutual insurance company named Mutual Casualty Association. Later the company name was changed to Markel Corporation.
NVR Inc.
$1,679 per share
3-year performance 64%
This company was founded as Ryan Homes in 1940. It changed its name to NVR Incorporated in 1980. NVR Inc.’s main business is home building and mortgage. They construct and sell buildings and homes under the brand names Ryan Homes, Rymarc, NV Homes and Heartland Homes. The company has constructed more than 365,000 homes thus far in the US.
Seaboard Corporation
$3,742 per share
3-year performance 34%
Seaboard Corporation is a Fortune 500 giant. The company’s main business is pork production and processing as well as ocean transportation. Internationally, Seaboard is also involved in electrical power generation, sugar production, grain processing, and commodity merchandising. The company owns 30 container vessels. Seaboard Corp. employs about 23,000 people and is headquartered in Merriam, Kansas.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
$239,166 per share
3-year performance 34%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is by far the most expensive stock in the world. Its class A shares traded at $190,499.50 per share on the NYSE at the time of writing this article. Berkshire Hathaway is a multinational conglomerate that wholly owns NetJets, FlightSafety International, Helzberg Diamonds, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen, Lubrizol, BNSF, and GEICO. The company has significant minority holdings in blue chip brands such as IBM, Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, and American Express. Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO is Warren Buffett who is known as the “Oracle of Omaha”. Buffett has made his name as a shrewd investor and his 2015 net worth of $63.1 billion makes him the third richest man in the world.
Disclaimer: This article was issued by Antoine Briffa, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri & Co. Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.