Warren Buffett is arguably the world’s most famous investor and his investment moves are closely followed. Each quarter, the company he runs, Berkshire Hathaway, discloses its current holdings to shareholders.
Here are some of the changes Buffett and his two investment officers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, made during the fourth quarter, according to the latest 13F regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These changes were made prior to a stock-market pullback that occurred during January 2022, when the S&P 500 fell 5.3 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 9 percent. All holdings data is as of Dec. 31, 2021.
Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio holdings: Where Buffett & Co. are buying/adding
Nu Holdings (NU)
A new $1 billion position was established in Nu Holdings during the fourth quarter. Nu Holdings is a digital financial services platform that offers credit, debit cards, savings solutions and other personal finance services. It primarily operates in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI)
Berkshire also established a new position in video-game maker Activision Blizzard. It’s likely Berkshire has already made a nice profit on the $975 million stake, after Activision agreed to be acquired by Microsoft in a $75 billion deal. The stock ended 2021 at about $66 per share and recently traded for $81.50.
Liberty Sirius XM Series A (LSXMA) and Liberty Media Formula One (FWONK)
Berkshire also boosted its stake in Liberty Sirius XM Series A by about 36 percent, to just over $1 billion, and established a new position in Liberty Media Formula One Series C, with about $134 million. Both are tracking stocks tied to John Malone’s Liberty Media empire. The interests include stakes in SiriusXM, Live Nation Entertainment and Formula One.
Chevron (CVX)
Berkshire increased its position in oil company Chevron by about one-third during the fourth quarter. The stake, which was first purchased in the third quarter of 2020 and halved during the first quarter of 2021, was worth about $4.5 billion at the end of the quarter.
Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio holdings: Where Buffett & Co. are selling
Marsh & McLennan (MMC)
Berkshire cut its stake in insurance broker Marsh & McLennan for the third consecutive quarter, reducing it by about 85 percent during the most recent quarter. The position was first established in the third quarter of 2020, but Berkshire has sold much of the position as the price of shares increased.
AbbVie (ABBV), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), and Royalty Pharma (RPRX)
Berkshire also continued to reduce its stake in drugmakers AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Both positions were cut by more than 75 percent during the quarter. A more than $400 million position in Teva Pharmaceuticals was completely eliminated during the quarter. It also slashed its Royalty Pharma stake by more than one-third after establishing the position just one quarter earlier.
Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA)
Long-term holdings in Visa and Mastercard were also reduced during the fourth quarter. Berkshire’s Visa stake was reduced by a little over 13 percent, while its Mastercard holdings were reduced by about 7 percent. It was the second-consecutive quarter of selling for the two payments giants, which have been part of Berkshire’s portfolio since 2011. Berkshire still owns about $1.4 billion of Mastercard and $1.8 billion of Visa, as of year-end.
Charter Communications (CHTR)
A stake in broadband and cable company Charter Communications was reduced by about 9 percent during the fourth quarter. It was still worth about $2.5 billion at quarter end and has performed well for Berkshire since the position was first bought during the second quarter of 2014. The stock traded for about $140 per share in May of 2014 and traded above $800 during the third quarter of 2021. It currently trades for about $608 per share.
Top stock holdings in Buffett’s portfolio
Berkshire takes a concentrated approach with its investments, typically holding the majority of its portfolio in just a few companies. Its top holdings didn’t change during the fourth quarter and just four companies accounted for more than 70 percent of the portfolio’s value.
1.Apple (AAPL) – $157.5 billion
2.Bank of America (BAC) – $44.9 billion
3.American Express (AXP) – $24.8 billion
4.Coca-Cola (KO) – $23.7 billion
Buffett spent more than $20 billion repurchasing Berkshire stock in the first three quarters of 2021, including $7.6 billion during the third quarter. This is an indication that the company believes the shares are undervalued and continuing shareholders will benefit from the buybacks. Berkshire’s fourth quarter results will be released on Feb. 26 along with Buffett’s widely read letter to shareholders.
Bottom line
Buffett and Berkshire have an excellent track record in selecting investments but be sure to research any investments thoroughly before investing yourself. Even stocks owned by legendary investors decline and you’ll need to understand the businesses you’re invested in well enough to make a buy, hold or sell decision on your own.
