Major Changes to Berkshire’s Portfolio in Third Quarter 2014

In its SEC 13F filing after the market closed on Friday, November 14, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) revealed several major changes to its portfolio during the third quarter of 2014.

Berkshire’s four largest transactions involved increasing its previous stakes in three companies, and divesting its prior investment in a fourth as follows:

(1) DirecTV (DTV) – Holding increased by over $500 million, or 28%, to 30,000,000 shares currently valued at $2.6 billion.  This is an investment of both Ted Weschler and Todd Combs.

(2) Charter Communications (CHTR) – Stake increased by over $400 million, or 114%,  to 4.95 million shares currently valued at about $750 million.  This is likely an investment of Ted Weschler or Todd Combs.

(3) General Motors (GM) – Holding increased by over $200 million, or 21%, to 40 million shares currently valued at $1.2 billion.  Warren Buffett has previously attributed this investment to Ted Weschler.

(4) Deere & Co. (DE) – Sold entire holding of 4 million shares currently valued at over $300 million.  This investment was made by Todd Combs (Fortune Magazine, October 27, 2014).