By Dr. David Kass
After the market closed on February 17, 2015, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) reported its equity holdings of U.S. based companies in its SEC 13F filing for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. This report revealed numerous changes to Berkshire’s portfolio. The three largest were:
(1) Warren Buffett sold his $4 billion investment in Exxon Mobil (XOM),
(2) Mr. Buffett added $1 billion (+9%) to his holding in International Business Machines (IBM) ($12 billion), and
(3) Todd Combs (Fortune Magazine October 27, 2014) added about $800 million to his position in Deere (DE) ($1.5 billion).
Berkshire also added to its stakes in Charter Communications (CHTR), DaVita Healthcare (DVA), DirecTV (DTV), General Motors (GM), Liberty Global (LBTY), MasterCard (MA), Phillips 66 (PSX), Precision Castparts (PCP), Suncor Energy (SU), Viacom (VIAB), and Visa (V). It initiated investments in Restaurant Brands International (QSR) and Twenty First Century Fox (FOXA).
There were also reductions in Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV). Berkshire eliminated its holdings in Conoco Phillips (COP) and Express Scripts (ESRX).
Berkshire’s 13F filing for the fourth quarter of 2014 is available at:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000095012315002961/xslForm13F_X01/form13fInfoTable.xml
