Scanning through the equity holdings of Donald Yacktman‘s Yacktman Asset Management as of the latest 13F reporting period, we studied his top holdings to pinpoint those which also saw sizable insider purchases over the last half-year. While two of these companies, namely The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) occupied spots in the top quarter of his equity portfolio, the other two, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) were found a bit lower down the list.
Yacktman Asset Management has about $30.5 billion worth of assets under management, with the market value of its equity portfolio standing at $24.12 billion at the end of the March quarter. The consumer staples sector accounted for 40% of those holdings. Founded in 1992 by Donald Yacktman, the fund is currently being managed by his son, Stephen Yacktman, who is the Chief Investment Officer. The fund’s investing philosophy is entrenched in value investing backed by rigorous research and bottom-up stock selection.
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With a holding of 38.93 million shares valued at $1.58 billion, The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) was Yacktman’s third largest position. The company has received attention from two insiders, who are also the company’s directors: Marc J. Bolland, who acquired 10,000 shares at a unit price of $42.09 in February, and Richard M. Daley, who paid $42.43 for each of the 500 shares that he purchased in the same month. The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO)’s stock has become even cheaper since then amid a 3.69% depreciation year-to-date. The beverage giant’s revenues peaked in 2012 at $48 billion, and stood at $47 billion in 2013 and $46 billion in 2014. As more consumers in developed countries are becoming diet conscious, The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) is aiming to drive its growth from emerging and developing markets. According to Muhtar Kent, the company’s CEO, India and Africa stand as bright prospects in that regard. Legendary value investor Warren Buffett owns a major stake in the company through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, amounting to 400 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter. Perhaps in an attempt to assuage the concerns of its stakeholders, The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) brought Buffett on to the stage at its annual meeting last month, with him praising the efforts of the company’s management.
The next company on our list is Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) which saw recent insider purchases from two of its directors, Mason G. Morfit and Charles W. Scharf. The former acquired some 1.03 million shares of the software company in February at an average unit price of $41.11 in seven transactions, while Scharf bought 23,612 shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) at $42.34. The stock is trading nearly sideways year-to-date. The $385.06 billion company is flush with cash that amounts to $95.44 billion and some analysts believe that it should use its war chest to acquire salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM). Besides Yacktman, who held about 21.53 million shares of the company’s stock valued at $875.51 million, another significant investor in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Jeffrey Ubben‘s ValueAct Capital.
Yacktman Asset Management held some 5.97 million shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) valued at $371.75 million at the end of the first quarter. The $82.75 billion oil and gas exploration and production company’s Executive Vice President, Alan J. Hirshberg acquired 9,000 shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) at a unit price of $69.95, towards the end of last year. The stock is down by about 2.65% year-to-date amid first quarter financial results that met analysts’ expectations. The low price of crude oil during the quarter was partially offset by an approximate 5% increase in production to 1.61 million boe/day. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) also lowered its operating costs to $2.1 billion during the first quarter as compared to $2.3 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. According to our database, Jean-Marie Eveillard‘s First Eagle Investment Management is the largest stockholder of the company.
Lastly, Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) also garnered some support in terms of an insider purchase, as the company’s director Edward P. Garden of Trian Partners acquired over 1.14 million shares in three separate transactions between January and March at an average unit price of $38.61. Yacktman’s stake in Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) stood at 7.55 million shares valued at $303.66 million at the end of the first quarter. In addition to Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, which owns 28.90 million shares, First Eagle Investment Management also has a sizable stake of 27.76 million shares.
Disclosure: None
