Scott Black's Top Q3 2026 Move: Simon Property Group Inc at a 1.27% Portfolio Impact GuruFocus News Thu, November 5, 2026 at 5:01 PM EST 5 min read SPG -0.79% AAPL -1.96% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) recently submitted his 13F filing for the third quarter of 2026, offering investors a window into the decisions made at Delphi Management, Inc., the Boston-based firm he founded and leads as president. Black is a disciplined disciple of the Graham-Dodd school of value investing, and his latest quarterly report shows a portfolio still anchored in rigorous quantitative screening and management quality. The headline move this quarter was a new stake in Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE:SPG), which carried a 1.27% portfolio impact. The filing also revealed broad activity across 80 holdings, including 13 position increases and 64 reductions.
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Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) is the president and founder of Delphi Management, Inc. His first entrepreneurial venture was restructuring the William O'Neil Company in 1978, followed in 1979 by managing equities for Sunkist Growers, Delphi Management's original account. At Merrill Lynch, he worked initially in the Market Planning Department of the brokerage entity until becoming head of Corporate Development, responsible for the holding company's diversification activities. Black holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University in Applied Mathematics and Economics and earned an MBA in Finance at the Harvard Business School in 1971, after completing his U.S. Army active service obligation at Fort Ord, California.
According to Delphi's website, the firm pursues "a proven value investing strategy that emphasizes the fundamental performance of underlying companies. We only invest in companies that meet our internally developed set of rigorous quantitative criteria and that are under good management. As disciples of the Graham-Dodd school of value investing, this means we believe that an investment candidate should only be purchased at a low absolute valuation. Additionally, it means that we personally contact management at every company in which we invest." That philosophy of low absolute valuation and direct management engagement frames every move in the quarter's filing.
Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) added a total of 2 stocks, among them:
The most significant addition was Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE:SPG), with 6,020 shares, accounting for 1.27% of the portfolio and a total value of $1.21 million.
The second largest addition to the portfolio was Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN), consisting of 1,795 shares, representing approximately 0.21% of the portfolio, with a total value of $200,000.
Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) also increased stakes in a total of 13 stocks, among them:
The most notable increase was Brady Corp (NYSE:BRC), with an additional 5,993 shares, bringing the total to 13,173 shares. This adjustment represents a significant 83.47% increase in share count, a 0.52% impact on the current portfolio, and a total value of $1.10 million.
The second largest increase was Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC), with an additional 4,631 shares, bringing the total to 19,414. This adjustment represents a significant 31.33% increase in share count, with a total value of $1.21 million.
Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) completely exited 5 holdings in the third quarter of 2026, as detailed below:
Amentum Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMTM): Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) sold all 55,469 shares, resulting in a -1.12% impact on the portfolio.
Arrow Financial Corp (NASDAQ:AROW): Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) liquidated all 8,555 shares, causing a -0.34% impact on the portfolio.
Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio) also reduced positions in 64 stocks. The most significant changes include:
Reduced The Cheesecake Factory Inc (NASDAQ:CAKE) by 6,285 shares, resulting in a -33.27% decrease in shares and a -0.49% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $99.32 during the quarter and has returned 5.41% over the past 3 months and 122.05% year-to-date.
Reduced Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL) by 1,134 shares, resulting in a -24.74% reduction in shares and a -0.48% impact on the portfolio. The stock traded at an average price of $469.71 during the quarter and has returned -31.41% over the past 3 months and 154.41% year-to-date.
At the third quarter of 2026, Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio)'s portfolio included 80 stocks. The top holdings were 2.73% in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), 2.24% in Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.B), 1.98% in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE), 1.95% in Dell Technologies Inc (NYSE:DELL), and 1.73% in ASE Technology Holding Co Ltd (NYSE:ASX). The relatively even weighting across the top names reflects Delphi's preference for a diversified book of individually screened value candidates rather than concentrated bets on a handful of positions.
The holdings are mainly concentrated in 9 of all the 11 industries: Financial Services, Technology, Consumer Cyclical, Industrials, Healthcare, Real Estate, Communication Services, Energy, and Basic Materials. The new Simon Property Group position fits naturally into the Real Estate sleeve, while the reductions in consumer-facing names such as The Cheesecake Factory suggest Black is rebalancing toward sectors where his valuation criteria remain most compelling.
For followers of GuruFocus, the third-quarter filing offers several practical signals. First, the new Simon Property Group stake, though modest at 1.27% of the portfolio, marks a deliberate entry into a real estate name that presumably cleared Delphi's strict absolute-valuation screen. Second, the 83.47% increase in Brady Corp shows Black is willing to add aggressively to existing holdings when conviction and price align. Third, the complete exits from Amentum Holdings and Arrow Financial, combined with 64 reductions, indicate active portfolio hygiene rather than passive holding. Investors can track these positions and Black's future filings through GuruFocus's guru portfolio pages.
