Berkshire Again a Net Seller of Equities in Q2

Wide-moat-rated Berkshire Hathaway sold some $2.1 billion worth of stock while also acquiring a little over $1 billion of equities.

Greggory Warren, CFA 17 August, 2021 | 10:30AM
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Munger and Buffett

Wide-moat-rated Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) (BRK.A) had a fairly quiet second quarter in its equity investment portfolio, selling some $2.1 billion worth of stock while also acquiring a little over $1 billion of equities. Based on the insurer's recent 13-F filing, Berkshire trimmed positions in US Bancorp and Chevron, and sold off more than 10% of the investment portfolio's stakes in Abbvie (selling 2.3 million shares or 10.2% of its holdings), General Motors (7.0 million shares or 10.4% of its holdings), Bristol-Myers Squibb (4.7 million shares or 15.3% of its holdings), and Marsh & McLennan (1.1 million shares or 20.6% of its holdings). Berkshire also disposed of meaningful amounts of Merck (8.7 million shares, or 48.8% of its holdings) and Liberty Global Cl C shares (5.5 million shares, or 74.5% of its holdings), while completely eliminating the firm's holdings in Liberty Global Cl A, Biogen, and Axalta Coating Systems.

As for the purchases, almost all of them involved existing holdings as Berkshire added to stakes in Kroger (picking up 10.7 million shares and increasing its position by 21.0%), Aon (around 300,000 shares and increasing its position by 7.3%), and Restoration Hardware (35,500 shares for a 2.0% increase in the company's holdings). Berkshire also disclosed a new investment during the quarter in Organon (some 1.65 million shares), which was spun-off by Merck during the second quarter. Berkshire had originated stakes in the pharmaceuticals--AbbVie, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck--as well as the insurance brokers-- Marsh & McLennan and Aon--in just the past year and a half, but many of these stocks have seen marked gains in just the past few quarters, allowing the insurer's main managers of many of these smaller holdings (relative to the portfolio overall)--CEO Warren Buffett's two lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler--to take some profit off the table. Even so, the firm ended the second quarter with $293.0 billion of reportable equity holdings.

Do You Want To Take Control Of Your Finances?

Find The Best Tools Here

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Securities Mentioned in Article

Security NamePriceChange (%)Morningstar Rating
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class A682,470.00 USD-0.14Rating
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B454.93 USD-0.21Rating

About Author

Greggory Warren, CFA

Greggory Warren, CFA  Greggory Warren, CFA, is a financial services sector strategist for Morningstar.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy       Disclosures        Accessibility