"Tracking Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio – Q1 2021 Update"
"Berkshire Hathaway's 13F stock portfolio value increased marginally from ~$270B to ~$270.44B this quarter.Their largest three holdings are at ~63% of the entire portfolio.Berkshire Hathaway added Aon plc while reducing Wells Fargo and dropping Synchrony Financial & Suncor Energy during the quarter.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Warren Buffett’s regulatory  filed on 05/17/2021. Please visit our  article series for an idea on how his holdings have progressed over the years and  for the moves in Q4 2020.During Q1 2021, Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) (BRK.B) 13F stock portfolio value increased marginally from ~$270B to ~$270.44B. The top five positions account for three-quarters of the portfolio: Apple Inc., Bank of America, American Express, Coca Cola, and Kraft Heinz. There are 43 individual stock positions many of which are minutely small compared to the overall size of the portfolio.() are a treasure trove of information and are a very good source for anyone starting out on individual investing.Note: In Q1 2021, Berkshire Hathaway repurchased ~27.5M Class B Equivalent Shares for a total outlay of $6.57B. The average price paid was ~$239. Book Value as of Q1 2021 was ~$195 per share. So, the repurchase happened at ~123% of Book Value. In July 2018, Berkshire had announced a plan to make their re-purchase criteria to be more flexible – instead of the 120% of Book Value criteria, Buffett & Munger had to agree that Berkshire was trading below intrinsic value. The Class B shares currently trade at ~$288.New Stakes:Aon plc (AON): AON is 0.35% of the portfolio position established this quarter at prices between ~$202 and ~$234 and the stock currently trades well above that range at ~$254.Stake Disposals:Synchrony Financial (SYF): SYF was a 0.26% of the portfolio position purchased in Q2 2017 at prices between $26.50 and $34.50 and increased by ~20% the following quarter at prices between $28.50 and $31.25. The disposal this quarter was at prices between $33.50 and $43. The stock is now at $45.85.Note: Synchrony is the private label credit-card business split-off from GE that started trading in August 2014 at ~$23 per share.Suncor Energy (SU): The 0.09% SU stake was purchased in Q4 2018 at prices between $26 and $40. Q4 2019 saw a ~40% stake increase at prices between $29 and $33. There was another ~30% stake increase in Q2 2020 at prices between $14.25 and $21.30. Last quarter saw a similar reduction at prices between ~$11 and ~$19. The position was disposed this quarter at prices between $16.75 and $23.50. The stock is now at ~$24.Note: Suncor Energy has had a roundtrip in the portfolio. It was a 0.48% position purchased in Q2 2013 at prices between $27 and $32. That stake was disposed during Q2 & Q3 2016 at prices between $25.50 and $29.Stake Increases:Marsh & McLennan (MMC) and Verizon Communications (VZ): These two stakes established in Q3 2020 were increased substantially over the last two quarters. MMC is a small 0.24% of the portfolio stake established at prices between ~$107 and ~$119 and it now goes for ~$134. There was a ~25% stake increase last quarter at prices between ~$103 and ~$119. That was followed with a similar increase this quarter at prices between ~$108 and ~$122. The large 3.42% VZ position was built over the last two quarters at prices between $54 and $62 and the stock is now at ~$57. There was a ~8% stake increase this quarter. For investors attempting to follow, these two are good options to consider for further research.Note 1: Verizon is currently trading below Berkshire’s overall cost-basis of ~$59 per share.Note 2: Berkshire likely avoided disclosing these stakes in the Q3 2020 13F filing by making use of the “”. An amendment filed in February disclosed the activity.Kroger Company (KR): KR is a 0.68% of the portfolio position established in Q4 2019 at prices between $24 and $29. Last four quarters have seen a ~170% stake increase at prices between ~$30 and ~$38.75. The stock currently trades at $37.20.RH Inc. (RH): The 0.39% of the portfolio RH position was established in Q3 2019 at prices between $119 and $174 and increased by ~40% next quarter at prices between $165 and $242. It is now at ~$628. Berkshire controls ~9% of the business. There were marginal increases in the last two quarters.Stake Decreases:US Bancorp (USB): The 2.65% USB stake has been in the portfolio since 2006. The original position was tripled during the 2007-2009 timeframe. It was then kept relatively steady till Q2 2013 when ~17M shares were purchased at prices between $32 and $36. H1 2018 had seen a ~16% increase at prices between $49 and $58 and that was followed with a ~25% increase in Q3 2018 at prices between $50 and $55. The stock is now at $60.85 and Berkshire’s cost-basis is ~$38. They control ~10% of the business. There was marginal selling in the last two quarters.General Motors (GM):  GM is a 1.42% of the 13F portfolio position that was first purchased in Q1 2012 at prices between $21 and $30. By Q3 2017, the position size had increased by around six-times (10M shares to 60M shares). Q4 2017 saw a reduction: ~17% selling at prices between $40.50 and $46.50. There was a ~38% stake increase in Q4 2018 at prices between $30.50 and $38.50. Last few quarters have seen only minor adjustments. This quarter saw a ~8% trimming. The stock currently trades at ~$56. Overall, Berkshire’s cost-basis on GM is ~$31.Chevron Corp (CVX): CVX is a 0.92% of the portfolio position purchased in Q3 2020 at prices between ~$72 and ~$91 and increased by ~10% last quarter. This quarter saw a ~50% selling at prices between ~$85 and ~$112. The stock currently trades at ~$106.Note: Berkshire likely avoided disclosing these stakes in the Q3 2020 13F filing by making use of the “”. An amendment filed yesterday disclosed the activity. Their overall cost-basis on CVX was ~$83 per share.AbbVie Inc. (ABBV), Merck & Company (MRK), and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY): Berkshire added these three picks from the big-pharma sector in Q3 2020. The stakes received an allocation of ~$1.8B each that quarter. The 0.92% ABBV position was increased by ~20% last quarter at prices between ~$81 and ~$109 and it currently trades at ~$117. This quarter saw a ~10% trimming. The 0.51% MRK stake saw a ~28% increase last quarter at prices between ~$75 and ~$84 and it is now at $79.50. There was a ~38% selling this quarter at prices between ~$72 and ~$85. BMY is a 0.72% position that saw a ~10% increase last quarter. BMY currently trades at $65.60. This quarter saw a ~7% trimming.Note: Berkshire’s overall cost-basis on ABBV & MRK were ~$91 & ~$83 per share respectively.StoneCo Ltd. (STNE): STNE is a 0.24% position purchased in Q4 2018 at ~$21 per share compared to the current price of ~$60. This quarter saw a ~25% reduction at prices between ~$60 and ~$94.Note: Berkshire has a ~8% ownership stake in StoneCo. In October 2018, WSJ reported that Berkshire had invested ~$300M each in two Fintech’s – India’s Paytm and Brazil’s StoneCo (STNE). The Paytm investment was made in August 2018 while the STNE purchase was following its IPO in October 2018.Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA): AXTA is a small 0.15% of the portfolio stake established in Q2 2015 at prices between $28 and $36 and increased by ~16% the following quarter at prices between $24.50 and $33.50. This quarter saw a ~40% selling at prices between ~$26.75 and ~$31. The stock currently trades at $32.45. Berkshire owns ~6% of the business.Liberty Global PLC (LBTYA) (LBTYK): The position was established in Q4 2013 at prices between $37.50 and $44.50 (adjusted for the 03/2014 stock-split) and increased in the following two quarters at prices between $38.50 and $46. The three quarters thru Q1 2016 had also seen a combined ~30% increase at prices between $30 and $50. Q2 2016 saw a ~17% further increase at prices between $27 and $39. There was a ~60% selling this quarter at prices between ~$23.50 and ~$26.75. The stock is now at ~$28 and the stake is at 0.10% of the 13F portfolio.Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI): The 0.10% SIRI stake was purchased in Q4 2016 at prices between $4.08 and $4.61. Q2 2017 saw selling: ~20% reduction at prices between $4.70 and $5.50. Q2 2020 saw a ~60% selling at prices between $4.50 and $6.50. The stock is currently at $5.87. There was a ~12% trimming this quarter.Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC):  WFC is now a minutely small position. It is a very long-term stake. Recent activity follows: 2019 saw a ~25% selling at prices between $43 and $55. Last three quarters had seen another ~85% reduction at prices between ~$21 and ~$33. This quarter saw the position almost eliminated at prices between ~$29.70 and ~$41. Berkshire’s cost-basis is ~$24.50. The stock currently trades at ~$47.Kept Steady:Apple Inc. (AAPL): AAPL is currently the largest 13F portfolio stake by far at ~40%. It was built between Q1 2016 and Q1 2018 at a cost-basis of ~$35 per share. Since then, the activity has been minor. The stock currently trades at ~$125.Note: Apple stock split 4-for-1 in August. The prices quoted above are adjusted. Berkshire has a ~5.4% ownership stake in the business.Bank of America (BAC): Berkshire established this large (top three) ~15% of the portfolio position through the exercise of Bank of America warrants. The warrants had a strike price of $7.14 compared to the current price of ~$42. The cost to exercise was $5B and it was funded using the $5B in 6% preferred stock they held. There was a ~30% stake increase in Q3 2018 at prices between $27.75 and $31.80. Since then, the activity has been minor.Note: Berkshire’s overall cost-basis is ~$14 and ownership stake is ~12%.American Express (AXP) and Coca Cola (KO):  These two very large stakes were kept steady during the last ~8 years. Buffett has said these positions will be held “permanently”. Berkshire’s cost-basis on AXP and KO are at around $8.49 and $3.25 respectively and the ownership stakes are at ~18% and ~9.5% respectively.Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC): KHC is currently a fairly large position at 4.82% of the portfolio. Kraft Heinz started trading in July 2015 with Berkshire owning just over 325M shares (~27% of the business). The stake came about because of two transactions with 3G capital as partner: a ~$4B net investment in 2013 for half of Heinz and a ~$5B investment for the acquisition of Kraft Foods Group in early 2015. Berkshire’s cost-basis on KHC is ~$30 per share compared to the current price of $43.70.Moody’s Inc. (MCO):  MCO is a 2.72% of the 13F portfolio stake. It is a very long-term position and Buffett’s cost basis is $10.05.  The stock currently trades at ~$324. Berkshire controls ~13% of the business.DaVita Inc. (DVA):  DVA is a 1.44% of the portfolio position that was aggressively built over several quarters in the 2012-13 timeframe at prices between $30 and $49. The stock currently trades at ~$122 compared to Berkshire’s overall cost-basis of ~$45 per share. Q3 2020 saw a ~5% (2M shares) selling at $88 per share.Note: Berkshire’s ownership stake in DaVita is ~32%.Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK):  BK is a 1.27% of the 13F portfolio stake. The bulk of the original position was purchased in Q2 2012 at prices between $19.50 and $25. Recent activity follows: 2017 saw a ~180% increase at prices between $43.50 and $55 while 2018 saw another one-third increase at prices between $44.50 and $58.50. The stock currently trades at $50.75. Berkshire’s cost-basis on BK is ~$46 per share and ownership stake is 8.4%.Charter Communications (CHTR): CHTR is a 1.19% of the portfolio position. It was established during the last three quarters of 2014 at prices between $118 and $170. In Q2 2015, the position was increased by ~42% at prices between $168 and $193 and that was followed with another ~21% increase the following quarter at prices between $167 and $195. The six quarters thru Q4 2018 had seen a combined ~25% selling at prices between $250 and $395 and that was followed with a ~20% reduction in Q1 2019 at prices between $285 and $366. Since then, the activity has been minor. The stock currently trades at ~$686 compared to Berkshire’s cost-basis of ~$178.Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA) (LSXMK): The tracking stock was acquired as a result of Liberty Media’s recapitalization in April 2016. Shareholders received 1 share of Liberty SiriusXM Group, 0.25 shares of Liberty Media Group and 0.1 shares of Liberty Braves Group for each share held. Berkshire held 30M shares of Liberty Media for which he received the same amount of Liberty SiriusXM Group shares. There was a ~40% stake increase in Q2 2017 at a cost-basis of ~$40 per share. Q2 2020 saw another ~27% stake increase primarily thru the $25.47 per share rights offering the company announced in May. The stock currently trades at ~$41.Note: LSXMA/LSXMK is trading at a significant NAV-discount to the parent’s (SIRI) valuation.Verisign Inc. (VRSN): VRSN was first purchased in Q4 2012 at prices between $34 and $49.50. The position was more than doubled in Q1 2013 at prices between $38 and $48. The buying continued till Q2 2014 at prices up to $63. The stock currently trades at ~$218 and the position is at 0.94% of the portfolio (~10% of the business).Amazon.com (AMZN): AMZN is a 0.61% of the portfolio stake established in Q1 2019 at prices between $1500 and $1820 and increased by ~11% next quarter at prices between $1693 and $1963. The stock currently trades at ~$3232.Snowflake Inc. (SNOW): SNOW had an IPO in September. Shares started trading at ~$229 and currently goes for ~$224. Berkshire acquired the shares at the IPO price of ~$120 per share.Store Capital (STOR): The 0.30% STOR stake was established in Q2 2017 in a private placement transaction at $20.25 per share. Q2 2020 saw a ~30% stake increase at prices between $14.50 and $26.50. The stock is now at $33.54.T-Mobile US (TMUS): TMUS is a small 0.24% of the portfolio stake purchased in Q3 2020 at prices between ~$104 and ~$119 and more than doubled next quarter at prices between ~$110 and ~$135. It currently trades at ~$135.Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA): TEVA is a very small 0.18% of the portfolio stake established in Q4 2017 at prices between $11.20 and $19.33 and more than doubled next quarter at prices between $16.50 and $22. The stock currently trades at $10.67.Biogen Inc. (BIIB), Globe Life (GL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Liberty LiLAC Group (LILA) (LILAK), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Procter & Gamble (PG), SPDR S&P 500 Index (SPY), United Parcel Service (UPS), Vanguard S&P 500 Index (VOO), and Visa Inc. (V): These very small positions (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) were kept steady this quarter. Berkshire’s ownership stake in Global Life is ~6%.Note 1: Since November 2015, Warren Buffett is known to own ~8% of Seritage Growth Properties (SRG) at a cost-basis of $36.50 in his personal portfolio. It currently trades at ~$16. SRG is an REIT spinoff from Sears that started trading in July 2015.Note 2: Berkshire Hathaway also has a 225M share position in BYD Company at a cost-basis of ~$1 per share (~$2 per share in terms of ADRs).  The ADR (BYDDY) currently trades at ~$39.60.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F stock holdings in Q1 2021:Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filings for Q4 2020 and Q1 2021.Cost-basis, Book Value, and Repurchase Info from 2019 AR – 2/25/2020: Cost-Basis: AXP – 8.49, AAPL - ~141, BAC – 13.25, BK – 45.36, CHTR – 174, AXP – 3.25, DAL – 44.07, GS – 71.54, JPM – 109, MCO – 10.05, LUV – 41.55, UAL – 54.47, USB – 38.18, V – 34, WFC – 20.36. Book Value: $262,278, , Repurchase Info: for 2019, aggregate outlay for repurchases were $5B.Regulatory filings thru 2/16/2021: 13G/As and D/As – 2/16 – KHZ – 325.4M shares – deemed 541.3M shares due to agreements with 3G, GM – 72.5M shares – 5.1% of business, LSXMK – 43.21M shares – 18.8% of business, STOR – 24.42M shares – 9.3% of business, BAC – 1.03B shares – 11.9% of business, LBTYK – 18.01M shares – 9.9% of business, BK – 74.35M shares – 8.4% of business, RH – 1.73M shares – 8.5% of business, USB – 149.45M shares – 9.9% of business, AXTA – 23.4M shares – 9.9% of business, AAPL – 907.56M shares – 5.4% of business, VRSN – 12.82M shares – 11.2% of business, LILAK – 2.63M shares – 5.4% of business, DVA – 36.1M shares – 33% of business, 13G – 2/12 – STT – 75.13M shares – 5.48% of business, 13G/A – 2/10 – Vanguard Group Filing – 135.15M shares – 9.86% of business, BlackRock filing – 7.9% of business, E.W. Scripps – SSP – 23.08M shares – 24.9% of business."