UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF

REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

 

Investment Company Act file Number 811-02265

 

The Value Line Mid Cap Focused Fund, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

7 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

 

Mitchell E. Appel

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 212-907-1900

 

Date of fiscal year end: December 31

 

Date of reporting period: September 30, 2017

 

 

 

Item 1:

Schedule of Investments.

A copy of the Schedule of Investments for the period ended 9/30/17 is included with this Form.

 

Value Line Mid Cap Focused Fund, Inc.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

 

Shares						Value
COMMON STOCKS (97.8%)
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY (4.7%)
				DISTRIBUTION & WHOLESALE (1.7%)
	72,800			LKQ Corp. *		$	2,620,072
				RETAIL (3.0%)
	12,200			Advance Auto Parts, Inc.			1,210,240
	44,000			TJX Companies, Inc. (The)			3,244,120
							4,454,360
							7,074,432
CONSUMER STAPLES (10.1%)
				FOOD (5.0%)
	31,000			J&J Snack Foods Corp.			4,070,300
	33,100			McCormick & Co., Inc.			3,397,384
							7,467,684
				HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS (2.8%)
	80,000			Church & Dwight Co., Inc.			3,876,000
	2,700			Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (1)			285,984
							4,161,984
				RETAIL (2.3%)
	31,800			Casey's General Stores, Inc. (1)			3,480,510
							15,110,178
FINANCIALS (4.1%)
				INSURANCE (4.1%)
	3,500			American Financial Group, Inc.			362,075
	55,900			Arch Capital Group, Ltd. *			5,506,150
	6,300			Validus Holdings, Ltd.			310,023
							6,178,248
HEALTHCARE (16.1%)
				ELECTRONICS (4.2%)
	9,900			Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. *			6,198,984
				HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS (11.9%)
	16,200			C.R. Bard, Inc.			5,192,100
	26,700			Danaher Corp.			2,290,326
	45,400			Henry Schein, Inc. *			3,722,346
	42,400			IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. *			6,592,776
							17,797,548
							23,996,532
INDUSTRIALS (34.7%)
				AEROSPACE & DEFENSE (9.1%)
	47,478			HEICO Corp.			4,263,999
	35,900			Teledyne Technologies, Inc. *			5,714,562
	14,100			TransDigm Group, Inc.			3,604,665
							13,583,226
				COMMERCIAL SERVICES (4.2%)
	137,400			Rollins, Inc.			6,339,636

 

Shares						Value
				ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT (2.5%)
	56,750			AMETEK, Inc.		$	3,747,770
				ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (5.5%)
	25,800			Stericycle, Inc. *			1,847,796
	91,650			Waste Connections, Inc.			6,411,834
							8,259,630
				HAND & MACHINE TOOLS (2.1%)
	21,400			Snap-on, Inc. (1)			3,188,814
				HOUSEWARES (3.6%)
	85,600			Toro Co. (The)			5,312,336
				MACHINERY DIVERSIFIED (5.8%)
	26,800			Middleby Corp. (The) *			3,434,956
	21,400			Roper Technologies, Inc.			5,208,760
							8,643,716
				MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURERS (1.9%)
	27,500			Carlisle Companies, Inc.			2,757,975
							51,833,103
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (23.9%)
				COMMERCIAL SERVICES (2.9%)
	34,400			Gartner, Inc. *			4,279,704
				COMPUTERS (1.1%)
	30,000			CGI Group, Inc. Class A *(1)			1,556,100
				ELECTRONICS (3.5%)
	62,100			Amphenol Corp. Class A			5,256,144
				SOFTWARE (16.4%)
	36,200			ANSYS, Inc. *			4,442,826
	43,400			Fiserv, Inc. *			5,596,864
	37,800			Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.			3,885,462
	98,800			Open Text Corp.			3,190,252
	20,600			Tyler Technologies, Inc. *			3,590,992
	20,100			Ultimate Software Group, Inc. (The) *(1)			3,810,960
							24,517,356
							35,609,304
MATERIALS (4.2%)
				COMMERCIAL SERVICES (2.3%)
	26,000			Ecolab, Inc.			3,343,859
				PACKAGING & CONTAINERS (1.9%)
	68,799			Ball Corp.			2,841,440
							6,185,299
				TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $89,824,204) (97.8%)			145,987,096

 

 

September 30, 2017

 

Shares						Value
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (5.9%)
				MONEY MARKET FUNDS (5.9%)
	3,652,158			State Street Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Fund, Premier Class		$	3,652,158
	5,200,402			State Street Navigator Securities Lending Government Money Market Portfolio (2)			5,200,402
				TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $8,852,560) (5.9%)			8,852,560
				TOTAL INVESTMENT SECURITIES (103.7%) (Cost $98,676,764)		$	154,839,656
EXCESS OF LIABILITIES OVER CASH AND OTHER ASSETS (-3.7%)							(5,465,028	)
NET ASSETS (3) (100%)						$	149,374,628

 

*	Non-income producing.
(1)	A portion or all of the security was held on loan. As of September 30, 2017, the market value of the securities on loan was $8,392,473.
(2)	Securities with an aggregate market value of $8,392,473 were out on loan in exchange for $5,200,402 of cash collateral as of September 30, 2017. The collateral was invested in a cash collateral reinvestment vehicle.
(3)	For federal income tax purposes, the aggregate cost was $98,676,764, aggregate gross unrealized appreciation was $57,576,559, aggregate gross unrealized depreciation was $1,413,667 and the net unrealized appreciation was $56,162,892.

 

  

The Fund follows fair valuation accounting standards (FASB ASC 820-10) which establishes a 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 and a discussion of changes in valuation techniques and related inputs during the period. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

 

•	Level 1 –	Inputs that reflect unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Fund has the ability to access at the measurement date;
•	Level 2 –	Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly, including inputs in markets that are not considered to be active;
•	Level 3 –	Inputs that are unobservable.

 

Transfers between investment levels may occur as the markets fluctuate and/or the availability of data used in an investment’s valuation changes. The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

 

The following table summarizes the inputs used to value the Fund's investments in securities as of September 30, 2017:

 

Investments in Securities:		Level 1				Level 2				Level 3				Total
Assets
Common Stocks*		$	145,987,096			$	—			$	—			$	145,987,096
Short-Term Investments			8,852,560				—				—				8,852,560
Total Investments in Securities		$	154,839,656			$	—			$	—			$	154,839,656

* See Schedule of Investments for further classification.

  

The Fund follows the updated provisions surrounding fair value measurements and disclosures on transfers in and out of all levels of the fair value hierarchy on a gross basis and the reasons for the transfers as well as disclosures about the valuation techniques and inputs used to measure fair value for investments that fall in either Level 2 or Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

 

For the period ended September 30, 2017, there were no transfers between Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 assets.

 

The Fund's policy is to recognize transfers between levels at the beginning of the reporting period.

 

An investment asset’s or liability’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level input, individually or in aggregate, that is significant to fair value measurement. The objective of fair value measurement remains the same even when there is a significant decrease in the volume and level of activity for an asset or liability and regardless of the valuation techniques used.

 

For the period ended September 30, 2017, there were no Level 3 investments. The Schedule of Investments includes a breakdown of the Funds' investments by category.

 

 

Item 2.

Controls and Procedures.

(a)

The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-2(c) under the Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(c) ) based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of the date within 90 days of filing date of this report, are approximately designed to ensure that material information relating to the registrant is made known to such officers and are operating effectively.

 

(b)

The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have determined that there have been no significant changes in the registrant’s internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

 

Item 3.

Exhibits:

(a)

Certifications of principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant.

 

 

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.

 

By	/s/ Mitchell E. Appel
	Mitchell E. Appel, President
Date:	November 28, 2017

 

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:	/s/ Mitchell E. Appel
	Mitchell E. Appel, President, Principal Executive Officer
By:	/s/ Emily D. Washington
	Emily D. Washington, Treasurer, Principal Financial Officer
Date:	November 28, 2017