Berkshire Hathaway Focused Stocks

Berkshire Hathaway has been very successful in handling stocks and has grown enormously since the time of its debut. If you analyze the secrets that gave the impetus for Berkshire Hathaway, you will find Warren Buffet’s double fold strategy. The first part comprises the operating businesses where the company holds a controlling stake and the second part consists of marketable securities like stocks, bonds, mutual funds investment, and the like. This strategy has enabled Berkshire Hathaway to take advantage of every situation in the stock market. If you plan to raise your net worth through stock market investing, following this successful strategy can deliver good results.
A number of stock market observers have been constantly watching the moves of Berkshire Hathaway and it certainly pays off when you learn from the leaders. During the last quarter alone Berkshire Hathaway experienced a steep 13% increase in its US stock portfolio. Here we present you in brief the new stakes acquired by Berkshire Hathaway during the last quarter.
International Business Machines (IBM): This is one of the biggest stakes initiated by Berkshire Hathaway. The value of the stakes is about $10B which is nearly 90% of the value of the total spending on new stakes. This move of Warren Buffet has surprised observers since he had been for a long time avoiding technology related companies.
CVS Caremark Corp (CVS): Berkshire’s purchase of CVS shares this quarter is valued at $190 million for 5.66 million shares. It is not unusual for Berkshire to invest in healthcare arena. However, often the company disposes off the shares in a short span. Although the deal may not be very significant, it is worth noting.
Directv (DTV): DTV’s 4.25 million shares worth $180 million is one other inclusion this quarter by Berkshire. Warren Buffett is known for his patronage toward media giants that is capable of generating good cash flow.
General Dynamics (GD): Berkshire’s purchase of GD shares accounts to 3.06 million shares worth $174 million. This again is an unusual move by Buffett because he hasn’t eyed the defense sector for over a decade now. Since the stake is minor, experts do not see this move to be a significant shift in strategy.
Intel Corporation (INTC): INTC’s 9.33 million shares valued at around $199 million is yet another inclusion into the Berkshire this quarter. This is one other technology related acquisition that has made observers vigilant. Although the stake is small, observers predict that there may be a buildup on the stake in near future.
Visa Inc: Berkshire purchased 2.29 million shares of Visa, which is valued about $196 million. In spite of the stake being minor, it is noteworthy because during the first quarter of this year Berkshire Hathaway invested in MasterCard. One other strong hold of the company is its American Express shares, which is valued at 13% of its portfolio.
Notable stake increases and decreases:
Wells Fargo Bank (WFC): Stake in WFC has been increased considerably. It is 361 million shares worth $9.9B. However the value has decreased to $8.7B due to the poor performance of the stocks. A glance at the history of the stocks shows that WFC stakes have been increase around seven times during the last decade. Buffett has a special liking toward the finance sector and you can also observe a slight increase of Berkshire’s stake in M & T Bank (MTB).
Stake decreases include a decrease of 5 million shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in the last quarter. The stake was stable during 2006 and even increased significantly in 2010. The disposal of JNJ shares this quarter seems to indicate a bearish bias. Other notable decreases include disposal of 10 million shares of Kraft (KFT) and the comparatively insignificant number of shares of ConocoPhillips (COP).
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