(VIANEWS) - Berkshire Hathaway's second-quarter 13F was just released, providing us with an opportunity to examine the firm's publicly listed equities portfolio. Berkshire has a huge stable of wholly-owned businesses, thus this is only a small portion of their holdings.
Berkshire Hathaway's $293 billion investment portfolio is made up of 44 firms and is highly concentrated, with the top five holdings accounting for more than 76% of the overall portfolio. Apple, Coca-Cola, American Express, Bank of America, and Kraft Heinz are the top five holdings.
Although the 13F does not contain overseas equities, Berkshire announced the acquisition of about 5% of five Japanese trading businesses by the end of August 2020: Sumitomo Corp, Mitsubishi Corp, Marubeni Corp, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and Itochu Corp. Buffett stated that they were long-term investments, and Berkshire may grow its share to up to 9.9 percent.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. trimmed a lot of stakes and was an overall net seller of stocks during the second quarter.
Investment out
Berkshire pulled back on Axalta Coating Systems Ltd, an American business that specializes in coatings for a wide range of industrial applications, materials, and industries. The company also pulled back by 2.3% of Chevron Corp. holding, an American multinational energy corporation.
Berkshire has held General Motors shares for almost ten years, then pulled back on the investment in recent quarters. Buffett’s company cut its stake in the automaker by about 10% during the second quarter even as the stock gained nearly 3% during the period.
The firm also trimmed its bets on pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including AbbVie Inc., Biogen, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. There seems to be a trend of decreasing exposure to pharmaceutical equities, many of which were bought in the third quarter of 2020.
Berkshire trimmed its Marsh McLennan holding nearly 21% during the second quarter. Marsh McLennan is a New York-based Company offering global professional services specializing in insurance brokerage, risk management, and reinsurance services.
Investment in
Buffett’s firm boosted isn't just trimming stakes. Insurance company, Aon Plc's stake rose 7.3%, even after the company recently canceled its planned $30 billion takeover of rival Willis Towers Watson Plc.
Another example is Kroger Co, an American retailer which is the largest supermarket in the United States by revenue and the second-largest general retailer. Berkshire’s Kroger stake was up 21% during the second quarter.
Last quarter, Berkshire Hathaway sold fewer shares and reduced share buybacks
According to PWC, Buffett’s firm sold a net $1.1 billion in stocks, down from $3.9 billion in the first quarter but
Berkshire spent $6 billion on share repurchases, a decrease from $6.6 billion in the previous quarter.
Berkshire's 13F analysis suggests that finding bargains in the second quarter was challenging.
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