Major Changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s Portfolio During Fourth Quarter of 2017

In an SEC 13F filing after the market closed today, Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) reported the following major changes to its common stock portfolio during the fourth quarter of 2017:

Additions:

(1) Apple – An additional $5.3 billion stake of 31.2 million shares (or additional 23.3% stake) resulting in a total position valued at $28 billion on December 31, 2017.

(2) Bank of New York – An additional 21% stake of 10.6 million shares or $570 million.

(3) Teva – New position of $358 million.

(4) Monsanto – An additional 32% stake of 2.8 million shares or $330 million.

Reductions:

(1) IBM – A reduction of 35 million shares or $5.4 billion representing a 94.5% reduction in its stake.

(2) General Motors – A reduction of 10 million shares or $410 million representing a 17% reduction in its stake.

As of December 31, 2017, Berkshire Hathaway’s top five common stock holdings by market value (representing 62.4% of its portfolio) were:

(1) Apple – $28.0 billion

(2) Wells Fargo – $27.8 billion

(3) Kraft Heinz – $25.3 billion

(4) Bank of America –  $20.0 billion

(5) Coca Cola – $18.4 billion