The Yacktman Focused Fund (Trades, Portfolio) disclosed its fourth-quarter equity portfolio earlier this month.
The fund, which is part of Austin, Texas-based Yacktman Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio), is managed by Stephen Yacktman and Jason Subotky. It primarily invests in large-cap U.S. companies to generate long-term capital appreciation and current income. When picking stocks, the portfolio managers look for good businesses that have shareholder-oriented management teams and are trading at low prices.
With these criteria in mind, NPORT-P filings show the firm entered three new positions during the three months ended Dec. 31, sold out of six stocks and added to or trimmed a number of other existing holdings. The most notable trades for the period included a new stake in U-Haul Holding Co.’s non-voting shares (UHAL.B, Financial) as well as a reduction in its holding of voting shares (UHAL, Financial), a new position in eBay Inc. (EBAY, Financial), an increased bet on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (XKRX:005935, Financial) and a decrease in its PepsiCo Inc. (PEP, Financial) investment.
Investors should be aware that portfolio updates for mutual funds do not necessarily provide a complete picture of a guru’s holdings. The data is sourced from the quarterly updates on the website of the fund(s) in question. This usually consists of long equity positions in U.S. and foreign stocks. All numbers are as of the quarter’s end only; it is possible the guru may have already made changes to the positions after the quarter ended. However, even this limited data can provide valuable information.
U-Haul
The fund converted 1.43 million of U-Haul’s voting shares (UHAL, Financial) into non-voting shares (UHAL.B, Financial), dedicating 2.47% of the equity portfolio to the stake. During the quarter, the non-voting shares traded for an average price of $57.91 each, while voting shares averaged $57.53.
The fund now holds 159,000 voting shares. GuruFocus estimates it has lost 3.45% on the investment, which was established in the second quarter of 2021.
The Phoenix-based truck rental and self-storage company, which recently transferred its listing from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange and changed its name from Amerco, has a $12.79 billion market cap; its non-voting shares were trading around $60.91 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-book ratio of 2.03 and a price-sales ratio of 2.16.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is fairly valued currently based on its historical ratios, past financial performance and analysts’ future earnings projections.
The GF Score of 70 out of 100, however, indicates the company is likely to have average performance going forward. While it received high ratings for profitability and growth, its financial strength was more moderate and the GF Value rank was low. It also did not get a momentum rank.
The non-voting stock is currently only being held by both the Focused Fund and the Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio). Of the gurus invested in the voting shares, Yacktman Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio) has the largest stake with 3.74% of its outstanding shares. David Abrams (Trades, Portfolio), the Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Robert Bruce (Trades, Portfolio), Hotchkis & Wiley, Third Avenue Management (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies also own the stock.
EBay
After selling out in 2015, the fund invested in 834,800 shares of eBay (EBAY, Financial), allocating 1.09% of the equity portfolio to the holding. The stock traded for an average price of $41.42 per share during the quarter.
The e-commerce company headquartered in San Jose, California, which facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales via its website, has a market cap of $25.67 billion; its shares were trading around $47.31 on Monday with a forward price-earnings ratio of 11.26, a price-book ratio of 5.30 and a price-sales ratio of 2.78.
According to the GF Value Line, the stock, while undervalued, is a possible value trap currently. As such, potential investors should do thorough research before making a decision.
Regardless, the GF Score of 87 indicates the company has good outperformance potential on the back of high ratings for four of the criteria and a middling financial strength rank.
With a 0.78% stake, Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio) is eBay’s largest guru shareholder. Other top guru investors include the Smead Value Fund (Trades, Portfolio), PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Simons’ firm, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) and Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio).
Samsung Electronics
Impacting the equity portfolio by 1.26%, the fund increased its Samsung Electronics (XKRX:005935, Financial) stake by 13.79%, picking up 1 million shares. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average per-share price of 53,589.10 won ($43.54).
The fund now holds 8.25 million shares, representing 10.37% of the equity portfolio and its largest holding. GuruFocus data shows it has gained an estimated 74.95% on the long-held investment.
The Korean electronics manufacturer has a market cap of 414.93 trillion won; its shares closed at 55,900 won on Friday with a price-earnings ratio of 10.03, a price-book ratio of 1.25 and a price-sales ratio of 1.23.
Based on the GF Value Line, the stock appears to be modestly undervalued currently.
With strong ratings across the board, the GF Score of 95 means the company has high outperformance potential.
The Yacktman Fund (Trades, Portfolio) has the largest stake in Samsung Electronics with 0.16% of its outstanding shares. David Herro (Trades, Portfolio) and the iShares MSCI ACWI ex. U.S. ETF also own the stock.
PepsiCo
With an impact of -3.05% on the equity portfolio, the fund trimmed its PepsiCo (PEP, Financial) position by 49.77%, divesting of 545,000 shares. The stock traded for an average price of $178.37 per share during the quarter.
The Focused Fund now holds 550,000 shares total, which make up 3.12% of the equity portfolio. It is also the fund’s sixth-largest holding. GuruFocus found the fund has gained an estimated 43.33% on the long-held investment.
The Purchase, New York-based manufacturer of popular soft drinks and snacks has a $234.02 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $169.86 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-book ratio of 12.34 and a price-sales ratio of 2.81.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is fairly valued.
Further, the GF Score of 86 indicates the company has good outperformance potential, driven by high ratings for profitability, growth and momentum and middling marks for financial strength and GF Value.
Of the gurus invested in PepsiCo, Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio)’s Bridgewater Associates has the largest stake with 0.29% of its outstanding shares. Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), Cohen, Simons’ firm, Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) and several other gurus also own the stock.
Additional trades and portfolio performance
During the quarter, the Focused Fund also entered a position in LG H&H (XKRX:051905, Financial) as well as exited its holdings of Hengan International Group Co. Ltd. (HKSE:01044, Financial), Bic (XPAR:BB, Financial) and Sysco Corp. (SYY, Financial).
The fund’s $3.19 billion equity portfolio, which is composed of 49 stocks, is largely invested in the communication services, consumer defensive, technology and energy sectors.
The Focused Fund returned -8.06% in 2026, slightly outperforming the S&P 500’s -19.44% return.
