Sunday, April 26, 2009

4-21-09

Dear Diary,

I sold my position in Waters Corp. (WAT) at $36.48 a share, a $0.78 a share gain, noting the projected Net Profit Margin is now in decline.

I also sold almost all of my Southeby's (BID) position on the same basis. The sale price was $9.60 a share, a $0.59 a share loss.

The proceeds were used to buy up the average purchase price of my H & R Block position from $15.85 to $16.16 a share, based on a widening Net Profit Margin and a P/E Ratio below 10.

I'm down 19% from 2007, while the Dow Jones Average is down about 42%. This is pretty good news, as Ben Graham, Warren Buffett's teacher, spent seven years in negative territory through the Great Depression.

It appears that the bottom has been found in this recession around 6,500 in the DOW, as I'm seeing all my stocks drift upward the past few days. I'm going to do some changes in strategy tomorrow, I think, to maximize some purchases. I'm very happy with the way my investments have gone the past 1.5 years, relative to the market.


Gene