N-Q 1 ast-poplarforest_nq.htm QUARTERLY NOTICE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS





UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549


 
FORM N-Q
 
 
QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT COMPANY
 


Investment Company Act file number 811-07959



Advisors Series Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)



615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)



Jeffrey T. Rauman, President/Chief Executive Officer
Advisors Series Trust
c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 5th Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Name and address of agent for service)


(626) 914-7363
Registrant's telephone number, including area code




Date of fiscal year end:  September 30, 2020


Date of reporting period:  December 31, 2019


 
Item 1. Schedules of Investments.


Poplar Forest Partners Fund
     
Schedule of Investments
     
at December 31, 2019 (Unaudited)
     
       
Shares/Principal Amount
     
Value
 
   
COMMON STOCKS - 95.6%
     
   
Air Freight & Logistics - 1.2%
     
 
41,000
 
United Parcel Service, Inc. - Class B
 
$
4,799,460
 
               
     
Banks - 4.0%
       
 
460,000
 
Bank of America Corp.
   
16,201,200
 
               
     
Capital Markets - 2.8%
       
 
250,000
 
E*TRADE Financial Corp.
   
11,342,500
 
               
     
Consumer Finance - 3.3%
       
 
430,000
 
Ally Financial, Inc.
   
13,140,800
 
               
     
Diversified Financial Services - 3.9%
       
 
625,000
 
AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.
   
15,487,500
 
               
     
Diversified Telecommunication Services - 5.9%
       
 
415,000
 
AT&T, Inc.
   
16,218,200
 
 
550,000
 
CenturyLink, Inc.
   
7,265,500
 
           
23,483,700
 
     
Energy Equipment & Services - 3.4%
       
 
535,000
 
Baker Hughes, Inc.
   
13,712,050
 
               
     
Food & Staples  Retailing - 8.9%
       
 
245,000
 
CVS Health Corp.
   
18,201,050
 
 
610,000
 
Kroger Co.
   
17,683,900
 
           
35,884,950
 
     
Food Products - 3.5%
       
 
410,000
 
Conagra Brands, Inc.
   
14,038,400
 
               
     
Health Care Providers & Services - 4.4%
       
 
205,000
 
AmerisourceBergen Corp.
   
17,429,100
 
               
     
Household Durables - 2.9%
       
 
600,000
 
Newell Brands, Inc.
   
11,532,000
 
               
     
Insurance - 7.5%
       
 
300,000
 
American International Group, Inc.
   
15,399,000
 
 
250,000
 
Lincoln National Corp.
   
14,752,500
 
           
30,151,500
 
     
IT Services - 6.2%
       
 
220,000
 
DXC Technology Co.
   
8,269,800
 
 
125,000
 
International Business Machines Corp.
   
16,755,000
 
           
25,024,800
 


     
Media - 2.2%
       
 
205,000
 
ViacomCBS, Inc. -  Class B (b)
   
8,603,850
 
               
     
Metals & Mining - 2.8%
       
 
95,000
 
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.
   
11,377,200
 
               
     
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels - 7.6%
       
 
385,000
 
Devon Energy Corp.
   
9,998,450
 
 
220,000
 
Murphy Oil Corp.
   
5,896,000
 
 
580,000
 
Noble Energy, Inc.
   
14,407,200
 
           
30,301,650
 
     
Pharmaceuticals - 7.1%
       
 
116,500
 
Eli Lilly & Co.
   
15,311,595
 
 
145,000
 
Merck & Co., Inc.
   
13,187,750
 
           
28,499,345
 
     
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment - 3.3%
       
 
150,000
 
Qualcomm, Inc.
   
13,234,500
 
               
     
Specialty Retail - 4.0%
       
 
100,000
 
Advance Auto Parts, Inc.
   
16,016,000
 
               
     
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals - 3.4%
       
 
865,000
 
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
   
13,718,900
 
               
     
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods - 2.3%
       
 
340,000
 
Tapestry, Inc.
   
9,169,800
 
               
     
Trading Companies & Distributors - 3.0%
       
 
155,000
 
MSC Industrial Direct Inc. - Class A
   
12,162,850
 
               
     
Water Transportation - 2.0%
       
 
160,000
 
Carnival Corp. (a)
   
8,132,800
 
               
     
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $300,066,534)
   
383,444,855
 
               
     
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS - 4.8%
       
     
Money Market Fund - 1.6%
       
 
6,426,890
 
Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Treasury Portfolio - Institutional Class, 1.50% (c)
   
6,426,890
 
     
U.S. Treasury Bills - 3.2%
       

4,500,000
 
1.35%, 1/14/20 (d)
   
4,497,806
 
 
3,950,000
 
1.39%, 1/21/20 (d)
   
3,946,946
 
 
3,000,000
 
1.40%, 1/28/20 (d)
   
2,996,842
 
 
1,250,000
 
1.48%, 2/27/20 (d)
   
1,247,074
 
           
12,688,668
 
     
Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $19,112,687)
   
19,115,558
 
               
     
Total Investments in Securities (Cost $319,179,221) - 100.4%
   
402,560,413
 
     
Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets - (0.4)%
   
(1,437,848
)
     
NET ASSETS - 100.0%
 
$
401,122,565
 

(a) 
U.S. traded security of a foreign issuer.
   
(b) 
Non-voting shares.
   
(c) 
Rate shown is the 7-day annualized yield at December 31, 2019.
   
(d) 
Rate shown is the discount rate at December 31, 2019.
   

The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) was developed by and/or is the exclusive property of MSCI, Inc. and Standard & Poor's
Financial Services LLC (“S&P”).  GICS is a service mark of MSCI and S&P and has been licensed for use by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC.


 
Poplar Forest Cornerstone Fund
     
Schedule of Investments
     
at December 31, 2019 (Unaudited)
     
       
Shares/Principal Amount
     
Value
 
   
COMMON STOCKS - 66.6%
     
   
Air Freight & Logistics - 0.8%
     
 
1,800
 
United Parcel Service, Inc. - Class B
 
$
210,708
 
               
     
Banks - 3.0%
       
 
15,800
 
Bank of America Corp.
   
556,476
 
 
1,200
 
SVB Financial Group (d)
   
301,248
 
           
857,724
 
     
Capital Markets - 2.0%
       
 
12,500
 
E*TRADE Financial Corp.
   
567,125
 
               
     
Communications Equipment - 0.7%
       
 
4,000
 
Cisco Systems, Inc.
   
191,840
 
               
     
Consumer Finance - 2.2%
       
 
20,500
 
Ally Financial, Inc.
   
626,480
 
               
     
Diversified Financial Services - 2.6%
       
 
30,000
 
AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.
   
743,400
 
               
     
Diversified Telecommunication Services - 4.1%
       
 
19,900
 
AT&T, Inc.
   
777,692
 
 
28,000
 
CenturyLink, Inc.
   
369,880
 
           
1,147,572
 
     
Energy Equipment & Services - 2.4%
       
 
26,900
 
Baker Hughes, Inc.
   
689,447
 
               
     
Food & Staples Retailing - 6.0%
       
 
11,600
 
CVS Health Corp.
   
861,764
 
 
29,700
 
Kroger Co.
   
861,003
 
           
1,722,767
 
     
Food Products - 1.9%
       
 
15,700
 
Conagra Brands, Inc.
   
537,568
 
               
     
Health Care Providers & Services - 2.9%
       
 
9,700
 
AmerisourceBergen Corp.
   
824,694
 
               
     
Household Durables - 1.9%
       
 
28,000
 
Newell Brands, Inc.
   
538,160
 
               
     
Insurance - 5.5%
       
 
15,500
 
American International Group, Inc.
   
795,615
 
 
12,800
 
Lincoln National Corp.
   
755,328
 
           
1,550,943
 
     
IT Services - 4.2%
       
 
11,300
 
DXC Technology Co.
   
424,767
 
 
5,800
 
International Business Machines Corp.
   
777,432
 
           
1,202,199
 
     
Media - 1.5%
       
 
10,400
 
ViacomCBS, Inc. - Class B (f)
   
436,488
 


     
Metals & Mining - 2.1%
       
 
4,900
 
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.
   
586,824
 
               
     
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels - 4.7%
       
 
14,300
 
Devon Energy Corp.
   
371,371
 
 
11,100
 
Murphy Oil Corp.
   
297,480
 
 
26,200
 
Noble Energy, Inc.
   
650,808
 
           
1,319,659
 
     
Pharmaceuticals - 4.8%
       
 
5,600
 
Eli Lilly & Co.
   
736,008
 
 
7,000
 
Merck & Co., Inc.
   
636,650
 
           
1,372,658
 
     
Professional Services - 0.7%
       
 
1,400
 
Equifax, Inc.
   
196,168
 
               
     
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment - 2.3%
       
 
7,500
 
Qualcomm, Inc.
   
661,725
 
               
     
Specialty Retail - 2.9%
       
 
5,100
 
Advance Auto Parts, Inc.
   
816,816
 
               
     
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals - 2.2%
       
 
39,700
 
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
   
629,642
 
               
     
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods - 1.5%
       
 
16,000
 
Tapestry, Inc.
   
431,520
 
               
     
Trading Companies & Distributors - 2.2%
       
 
7,900
 
MSC Industrial Direct Inc. - Class A
   
619,913
 
               
     
Water Transportation - 1.5%
       
 
8,200
 
Carnival Corp. (a)
   
416,806
 
               
     
TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $16,009,809)
   
18,898,846
 
               
     
 REIT - 0.9%
       
     
Equity Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) - 0.9%
       
 
11,500
 
Brixmor Property Group, Inc.
   
248,515
 
               
     
TOTAL REIT (Cost $206,101)
   
248,515
 
               
     
CORPORATE BONDS - 12.0%
       
     
Banks - 2.6%
       
     
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
       
$
700,000
 
3.75%, 7/1/24
   
727,515
 
     
Health Care Equipment & Supplies - 2.7%
       
     
Becton Dickinson and Co.
       
 
750,000
 
3.25%, 11/12/20
   
757,129
 
     
Health Care Providers & Services - 1.2%
       
     
Cardinal Health, Inc.
       
 
350,000
 
2.616%, 6/15/22
   
353,697
 
     
Oil, Gas Services & Equipment - 2.8%
       
     
Schlumberger Holdings Corp.
       
 
750,000
 
4.00%, 12/21/25 (e)
   
808,387
 
     
Professional Services - 2.7%
       
     
Equifax, Inc.
       
 
750,000
 
3.30%, 12/15/22
   
772,443
 
     
Total Corporate Bonds (Cost $3,319,242)
   
3,419,171
 


     
U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND INSTRUMENTALITIES - 13.0%
       
     
U.S. Government Agency - 2.4%
       
     
FHLMC
       
 
700,000
 
2.000%, 9/30/24 (g)
   
695,115
 
     
Total U.S. Government Agency (Cost $699,818)
   
695,115
 
               
     
U.S. Treasury Notes - 10.6%
       
     
U.S. Treasury Note TIPS
       
 
719,793
 
0.125%, 4/15/20
   
718,931
 
 
750,433
 
0.125%, 1/15/22
   
750,089
 
 
758,667
 
0.125%, 7/15/24
   
763,313
 
 
754,553
 
0.250%, 7/15/29
   
762,144
 
     
Total U.S. Treasury Notes (Cost $2,988,251)
   
2,994,477
 
               
     
TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND INSTRUMENTALITIES (Cost $3,688,069)
   
3,689,592
 
               
     
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS - 7.6%
       
     
Money Market Fund - 2.5%
       
 
707,696
 
Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds - Treasury Portfolio - Institutional Class, 1.50% (b)
   
707,696
 
     
U.S. Treasury Bills - 5.1%
       
$
140,000
 
1.35%, 1/14/20 (c)
   
139,932
 
 
140,000
 
1.39%, 1/21/20 (c)
   
139,892
 
 
210,000
 
1.40%, 1/28/20 (c)
   
209,779
 
 
95,000
 
1.39%, 1/30/20 (c)
   
94,893
 
 
100,000
 
1.48%, 2/27/20 (c)
   
99,766
 
 
100,000
 
1.49%, 3/26/20 (c)
   
99,649
 
 
100,000
 
1.51%, 4/23/20 (c)
   
99,525
 
 
100,000
 
1.51%, 5/21/20 (c)
   
99,408
 
 
95,000
 
1.53%, 6/18/20 (c)
   
94,319
 
 
95,000
 
1.52%, 7/16/20 (c)
   
94,208
 
 
90,000
 
1.52%, 8/13/20 (c)
   
89,147
 
 
90,000
 
1.51%, 9/10/20 (c)
   
89,046
 
 
90,000
 
1.50%, 10/8/20 (c)
   
88,945
 
           
1,438,509
 
     
Total Short-Term Investments (Cost $2,144,481)
   
2,146,205
 
               
     
Total Investments in Securities (Cost $25,367,702) - 100.1%
   
28,402,329
 
     
Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets - (0.1)%
   
(38,937
)
     
NET ASSETS - 100.0%
 
$
28,363,392
 

   
REIT - Real Estate Investment Trust
   
   
FHLMC - Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
   
   
TIPS - Treasury Inflation Protected Securities
   
 
(a) 
U.S. traded security of a foreign issuer.
   
 
(b) 
Rate shown is the 7-day annualized yield at December 31, 2019.
   
 
(c) 
Rate shown is the discount rate at December 31, 2019.
   
 
(d) 
Non-income producing security.
   
 
(e) 
Security purchased within the terms of a private placement memorandum, exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securites Act of 1933, as amended, and may be sold only to dealers in the program or other "qualified institutional buyers." As of December 31, 2019, the value of these investments was $808,387 or 2.9% of total net assets.
 
 
(f) 
Non-voting shares.
   
 
(g) 
Step-up bond; pays one interest rate for a certain period and a higher rate thereafter. The interest rate shown is the rate in effect as of December 31, 2019, and will increase to 2.25% on October 1, 2021.
 


 
Note 1 – Securities Valuation

The Poplar Forest Funds’ (the “Fund” or “Funds”) investments in securities are carried at their fair value. Each Fund determines the fair value of its investments and computes its net asset value per share as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (4:00 pm EST).

The Funds’ investments are carried at their fair value. Equity securities that are primarily traded on a national securities exchange shall be valued at the last sales price on the exchange on which they are primarily traded on the day of valuation or, if there has been no sale price on such day, at the mean between the bid and asked prices. Securities primarily traded in the NASDAQ Global Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If the NOCP is not available, such securities shall be valued at the last sale price on the day of valuation, or if there has been no sale on such day, at the mean between the bid and asked prices.  Over-the-counter securities which are not traded in the NASDAQ Global Market System shall be valued at the most recent sales price.  Investments in open-end mutual funds, including money market funds, are valued at their net asset value per share.  To the extent these securities are actively traded and valuation adjustments are not applied, they are categorized in level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.
 
Debt securities are valued at their bid prices furnished by an independent pricing service using valuation methods that are designed to represent fair value. These valuation methods can include matrix pricing and other analytical pricing models, market transactions, and dealer-supplied valuations. The pricing service may consider recently executed transactions in securities of the issuer or comparable issuers, market price quotations (where observable), bond spreads, and fundamental data relating to the issuer. Most debt securities are categorized in level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
 
Short-term debt securities, including those securities having a maturity of 60 days or less, are valued at the evaluated mean between the bid and asked prices.  To the extent the inputs are observable and timely, these securities would be classified in level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

The Board of Trustees (“Board”) has delegated day-to-day valuation issues to a Valuation Committee of Advisors Series Trust which is comprised of representatives from the Funds’ administrator, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services.  The function of the Valuation Committee is to value securities where current and reliable market quotations are not readily available or the closing price does not represent fair value by following procedures approved by the Board.  These procedures consider many factors, including the type of security, size of holding, trading volume and news events.  All actions taken by the Valuation Committee are subsequently reviewed and ratified by the Board.

Depending on the relative significance of the valuation inputs, fair valued securities may be classified in either level 2 or level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

The Funds have adopted authoritative fair value accounting standards which establish an authoritative definition of fair value and set out a hierarchy for measuring fair value.  These standards require additional disclosures about the various inputs and valuation techniques used to develop the measurements of fair value, a discussion in changes in valuation techniques and related inputs during the period and expanded disclosure of valuation levels for majority security types.  These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that each Fund has the ability to access.

Level 2 - Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.  These inputs may include quoted prices for the identical instrument on an inactive market, prices for similar instruments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, yield curves, default rates and similar data.

Level 3 - Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, to the extent relevant observable inputs are not available, representing each Fund’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in valuing the asset or liability, and would be based on the best information available.


The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.  The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the Funds’ securities as of December 31, 2019:

Poplar Forest Partners Fund

   
Level 1
   
Level 2
   
Level 3
   
Total
 
Common Stocks
                       
Communication Services
 
$
32,087,550
   
$
-
   
$
-
   
$
32,087,550
 
Consumer Discretionary
   
44,850,600
     
-
     
-
     
44,850,600
 
Consumer Staples
   
31,722,300
     
-
     
-
     
31,722,300
 
Energy
   
44,013,700
     
-
     
-
     
44,013,700
 
Financials
   
86,323,500
     
-
     
-
     
86,323,500
 
Healthcare
   
64,129,495
     
-
     
-
     
64,129,495
 
Industrials
   
16,962,310
     
-
     
-
     
16,962,310
 
Information Technology
   
51,978,200
     
-
     
-
     
51,978,200
 
Materials
   
11,377,200
     
-
     
-
     
11,377,200
 
Total Common Stocks
   
383,444,855
     
-
     
-
     
383,444,855
 
Short-Term Investments
   
6,426,890
     
12,688,668
     
-
     
19,115,558
 
Total Investments in Securities
 
$
389,871,745
   
$
12,688,668
   
$
-
   
$
402,560,413
 

Poplar Forest Cornerstone Fund

   
Level 1
   
Level 2
   
Level 3
   
Total
 
Common Stocks
                       
Communication Services
 
$
1,584,060
   
$
-
   
$
-
   
$
1,584,060
 
Consumer Discretionary
   
2,203,302
     
-
     
-
     
2,203,302
 
Consumer Staples
   
1,398,571
     
-
     
-
     
1,398,571
 
Energy
   
2,009,106
     
-
     
-
     
2,009,106
 
Financials
   
4,345,672
     
-
     
-
     
4,345,672
 
Health Care
   
3,059,116
     
-
     
-
     
3,059,116
 
Industrials
   
1,026,789
     
-
     
-
     
1,026,789
 
Information Technology
   
2,685,406
     
-
     
-
     
2,685,406
 
Materials
   
586,824
     
-
     
-
     
586,824
 
Total Common Stocks
   
18,898,846
     
-
     
-
     
18,898,846
 
                                 
REITs
   
248,515
     
-
     
-
     
248,515
 
Fixed Income
                               
Corporate Bonds
   
-
     
3,419,171
     
-
     
3,419,171
 
U.S. Government Agencies and Instrumentalities
   
-
     
3,689,592
     
-
     
3,689,592
 
Total Fixed Income
   
-
     
7,108,763
     
-
     
7,108,763
 
Short-Term Investments
   
707,696
     
1,438,509
     
-
     
2,146,205
 
Total Investments in Securities
 
$
19,855,057
   
$
8,547,272
   
$
-
   
$
28,402,329
 

Refer to the Funds’ schedules of investments for a detailed break-out of securities by industry classification.  Transfers between levels are recognized at December 31, 2019, the end of the reporting period.  During the period ended December 31, 2019, the Funds recognized no transfers between levels.



Item 2. Controls and Procedures.
 
(a)
The Registrant’s President/Chief Executive Officer/Principal Executive Officer and Vice President/Treasurer/Principal Financial Officer have concluded that the Registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “1940 Act”)) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c)) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of the report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rule 13a-15(b) or Rule 15d‑15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(d)).

(b)
There were no changes in the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the Registrant's last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

 
Item 3. Exhibits.
 
Separate certifications for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)).  Filed herewith.
 


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant)  Advisors Series Trust                                                     


By (Signature and Title)*  /s/ Jeffrey T. Rauman                               
Jeffrey T. Rauman, President/Chief Executive Officer/Principal Executive Officer

Date       2/28/20                                                                                  


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)*   /s/ Jeffrey T. Rauman                             
Jeffrey T. Rauman, President/Chief Executive Officer/Principal Executive Officer

Date       2/28/20                                                                                 


By (Signature and Title)*   /s/ Cheryl L. King                                    
Cheryl L. King, Vice President/Treasurer/Principal Financial Officer

Date       2/19/20                                                                                 

* Print the name and title of each signing officer under his or her signature.