By Robert Holmes
Warren Buffett recently said stocks will outperform gold and bonds, calling them the safest asset by far. He's putting Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B) money where his mouth is, buying up shares of DirecTV (DTV) and IBM (IBM).
In a Fortune article published last week, Buffett offered investors a preview of his upcoming annual shareholder letter. Buffett said equities will "prove to be the runaway winner," with the Oracle of Omaha talking down investments in gold and bonds. Regarding the latter, Buffett said bonds are a dangerous asset because they are currency-based and exposed to interest-rate risk.
During the fourth quarter, Buffett put some cash to work and bought several stocks. The billionaire opened a new position in dialysis services company DaVita (DVA), acquiring about 2.7 million shares, as well as Liberty Media (LMCA).
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Buffett also added to several of his existing positions, notably purchasing 22.3 million shares of Wells Fargo (WFC), one of his favorite picks. That brings his total share count in Wells Fargo to 383.7 million, with a market value of $10.6 billion, making it Berkshire's third-largest disclosed holding. Coca-Cola (KO) remains Berkshire's largest position with a market value of nearly $14 billion.
Professional investors who manage more than $100 million, like hedge funds and mutual funds, are required to disclose their equity holdings, options and convertible debt on a Form 13F filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 45 days of the end of a quarter. Funds aren't required to report short positions betting on declines. Berkshire ended the fourth quarter with 34 reported holdings with a market value of $66.1 billion.
Buffett doesn't always publish his holdings in so-called 13F filings. If he's building a stake in a company, he uses a loophole to opt out of disclosure regulations. But once his holdings are released publicly, people tend to follow him, pushing up share prices.
According to Tuesday's filing, Buffett added to several other positions, including IBM (IBM), DirecTV, CVS Caremark (CVS), Visa (V), General Dynamics (GD), Intel (INTC), and Verisk Analytics (VRSK).
IBM and Intel were notable picks for Buffett in the third quarter, becoming the first technology buys for Berkshire. Buffett had avoided investing in technology companies because he said they're difficult businesses to predict. Buffett's entry into IBM is based on the company's service offerings, which are more predictable and conducive to his value-investing strategy. IBM is Berkshire's second-largest holding, with a market value of $11.7 billion as of Dec. 31.
DaVita and DirecTV were top picks by Ted Weschler, the hedge fund manager who recently closed up Peninsula Capital Advisors to join Berkshire Hathaway.
Buffett did unload some shares during the fourth quarter, notably dumping his entire stake of 421,000 shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM). He also reduced his stakes in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Kraft Foods (KFT), selling 8.4 million and 2.7 million shares, respectively. Kraft remains Berkshire's sixth-largest holding by market value while Johnson & Johnson ranks ninth.
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There are a lot of people tugging on them everday, he has to get there someway.
I'm not here to beat the drum for him, only think he is an interesting person.
Wouldn't mind having a coffee and pie with him; But I'm not the person to bid a on dinner; They have more money then brains.
But I would pay for the coffee and pie.....And then I would tell him to leave the tip.
And the women in prison,what the hell was that about..Warren's not the Governor of Mississippi.
Do some people think Warren Buffet wrote this article? And posted it like on Facebook or he's in the chat room?
Bob Holmes a contributer to MSN, from The Street, wrote this about Buffet; And I really do not think he will be passing on your solicitations to Warren...?
George and Dave......I tried to post this yesterday....Buffet and Berk are "part" of the reason that I started accumulating more GE and DCAveraged down the "buy in price" of the equity.
One they believed in and the same for me/us..
We are now, setting on an appreciation of 25-27%
And have been collecting a dividend of 3.6% (current) It has been a "very worthy investment."
Warren doesn't always hit "home runs", but on overall average as their mantra,they are building value with a long term gain and amassing; More so, then a short term gains.
I've seen where that works; Sprinkle in some growth with a little more risk,along with value plays and dividends...And you,anybody can build a retirement fund of substance.
I do not look for 100% winners, if we have 75-85% winners..We are gaining/winning.
dear mr.buffett:
please buy my biped the entire inventory of "the great courses" on dvd plus manuals for each course. they are having a sale on many of the courses she likes.
we quadropeds promise not to eat you nor parboil you nor your kin come the reascendance of the quadropeds.
this is a great deal! go for it! do it now! you noh you want to!
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