Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management has filed the latest 13F with the SEC for the end of the second quarter, in which it disclosed an equity portfolio worth $18.74 billion, down from $21.71 billion held at the end of March. The fund holds 42 long positions, while its top ten picks amass 68.3% of the total portfolio value. In this article, we will take a closer look at Yacktman’s top picks, which include: Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP), and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA).
Yacktman Asset Management was founded in 1992 and it focuses on value-priced equities. Donald Yacktman was named “Portfolio Manager of The Year” by Morningstar in 1991, and before founding his firm, he had worked at Selected Financial Services and Stein Roe & Farnham. The fund is managed by Donald Yacktman’s son, Stephen Yacktman, who acts as 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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Yacktman Asset Management owns 28.64 million shares of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) valued $2.24 billion as of June 30. This represented 11.96% of the fund’s equity portfolio. The multinational consumer goods company has a market cap of $206.27 billion and trades at around 25 times earnings, versus the Consumer Goods sector average P/E of 14.81. In early July, Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), announced a multi-billion dollar deal with Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY). The deal, which will see 43 Procter & Gamble brands folded into Coty in a “Reverse Morris Trust” transaction, is valued $15 billion. The Cosmetics & Toiletries company announced earnings per share of $1.00 for the second quarter, against the Wall Street estimate of $0.94. However, the company also booked its third straight year of decelerating organic growth. Year-to-date the stock lost around 17%. Among other shareholders of the company in our database, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management held 7.61 million shares worth $607.25 million at the end of June.
Yacktman Asset Management has also reduced its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) by 12% on the quarter to 22.35 million shares valued at $2.09 billion. The food and beverage company has a market cap of $145.87 billion and its stock advanced by some 5% since the beginning of the year. Recently, PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) posted stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter, with earnings per share of $1.33 p, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24. Similarly, PepsiCo generated $15.9 billion in revenue, versus estimates of $15.8 billion. The snacks business remained the star performer for the period. In addition, the company is heavily relying on its research and development to find out a breakthrough product, which could compensate for ailing carbonated soft drink sales. After Yacktman Asset Management, the second largest shareholder of the company in our database is Trian Partners, managed by Nelson Peltz, which held 18.31 million shares at the end of June.
With a holding of 38.18 million class A shares, valued at $1.24 billion, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) represented Yacktman’s third-largest position. Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) is a $62.6 billion global media and entertainment company. On August 5, the company declared financial results for three months and full fiscal year 2015 ended June 30, having reported a 9% annual decline in sales to $6.2 billion for the quarter, while quarterly earnings fell by 7% to $0.39 per share. Another shareholder of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) is Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management, which owns 8.62 million shares as of the end of June, up by 38% on the quarter.
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