"Tracking Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio – Q2 2015 Update"
"Berkshire Hathaway's US long stock portfolio increased marginally from $107.13B to $107.18B this quarter.Warren Buffett's largest three holdings are at ~51% of the entire portfolio.Berkshire Hathaway added a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems while dropping National Oilwell Varco and Phillips 66.This article is part of a series that provides an ongoing analysis of the changes made to Berkshire Hathaway’s US stock portfolio on a quarterly basis. It is based on Warren Buffett’s regulatory  filed on 08/14/2015. Please visit our  article series for an idea on how his holdings have progressed over the years and  highlighting the moves during Q1 2015.During Q2 2015, Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) (BRK.B) US long stock portfolio increased marginally from $107.13B to $107.18B.  The top-five positions account for over two-thirds of the portfolio: Wells Fargo (24.68%), Coca Cola (14.64%), International Business Machines (12.07%), American Express (10.99%), and Wal-Mart (4%). There are 44 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.New stakes:Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA): AXTA is a small 0.62% of the portfolio stake established this quarter at prices between $27.62 and $36.37. The stock currently trades at $30.39. Although the position relative to the size of the portfolio is small, it is very significant that Berkshire owns ~8.5% of the business.Stake Disposals:National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV):  NOV was a minutely small 0.09% of the US long portfolio stake as of last quarter.  The original position was established in Q2 2012 at prices between $60 and $80.67. It was increased by ~19% in Q2 2013 at prices between $64.14 and $71.57. Last five quarters had seen a combined ~78% reduction at prices between $47.46 and $65.53 before the elimination this quarter. The stock currently trades at $39.57.NOTE: The implied performance of this position by the prices quoted above is negatively skewed because of the effect of National Oilwell Varco’s NOW Inc. spinoff. The terms called for NOV shareholders to receive one share of NOW Inc. for every four shares of NOV held.Phillips 66 (PSX): The 2% of the US long portfolio PSX stake as of Q4 2013 was reduced to a 0.71% stake in Q1 2014 at prices between $70.67 and $80.35. The position was further reduced by one-third the following quarter at prices between $76.69 and $86.33. Last quarter saw an about-turn: ~14% increase at prices between $59 and $80. The entire position was eliminated this quarter at prices between $76.79 and $81.63. The stock currently trades at $82.25.Stake Increases:Charter Communications (CHTR): CHTR is a 1.36% of the US long portfolio position. It was established in Q2 2014 at prices between $118 and $158 and more than doubled the following quarter at prices between $151 and $164. Q4 2014 saw a further ~25% increase at prices between $140 and $170. Last quarter had seen a minor ~3.5% reduction. This quarter, the position was again increased by ~42% at prices between $168 and $193. The stock currently trades at $180.US Bancorp (USB): USB, a 3.44% stake has been in the portfolio since 2006. The position was tripled during the 2007-2009 timeframe and since then was reduced by around 15% overall as of EOY 2012. In Q2 2013, ~17M shares were purchased at prices between $32.27 and $36.15. Last quarter saw a 4.57% increase at prices between $40.94 and $45.12 and that was followed with a marginal increase this quarter. Berkshire’s cost-basis on USB is ~$32 and the stock is now at $45.59. Buffett controls 4.7% of the business.Stake Decreases:Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI): CBI is a 0.44% of the US long portfolio position. The original stake was purchased in Q1 2013 at prices between $46 and $62. It was increased by 47% in Q2 2013 at prices between $50.92 and $63.75. Q4 2014 saw another 12% increase at prices between $65.51 and $87.65. This quarter, there was an about turn, as the position was reduced by ~13% at prices between $47.65 and $58.63. The stock currently trades at $51.74.  Berkshire controls ~8.6% of the business.Viacom (VIAB) & Wabco Holdings (WBC): These are very small (less than ~0.50% of the US long portfolio each) positions that were decreased further during the quarter. The VIAB stake saw a ~32% reduction at prices between $64.39 and $72.24 while the WBC position was reduced marginally. Berkshire controls ~6.5% of WBC.Kept Steady:American Express (AXP), Coca Cola (KO), and Procter & Gamble (PG):  These are very large stakes that were kept steady during the last nine quarters. Buffett has said these positions will be held “permanently”. Berkshire’s cost-basis on AXP, KO, and PG are at around $8.49, $3.25, and $6.40 and ownership stakes are at 14.8%, 9.2%, and 1.9% respectively.Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK):  BK is a 0.81% of the US stock portfolio stake. The bulk of the original position was purchased in Q2 2012 at prices between $19.51 and $24.67. The stake was increased by 30% in Q2 2013 at prices between $26.70 and $30.55. Last three quarters had seen an about turn as there was a combined ~16% reduction at prices between $35.95 and $41.53. The stock currently trades at $44.07.DaVita Inc. (DVA):  DVA is a 2.86% of the US long portfolio position that was aggressively built-up over several quarters: the original stake was doubled in Q1 2012, increased by over 50% in Q2 2012, 24% in Q4 2012, and an additional 16% in Q1 2013. There has been marginal buying since. The bulk of the stake build-up happened at prices between $30 and $49. The stock currently trades at around $80.28. In May 2013, Berkshire’s Ted Weschler signed an accord with DVA, limiting open-market purchases to 25% of the company- the position is currently at 17.9% of the business.Deere & Company (DE): DE stake was first acquired in Q3 2012 when around 4M shares were purchased at prices between $75.11 and $82.70. The position remained steady until Q3 2014 when an additional ~3.6M shares were purchased at prices between $82 and $91.38 - Berkshire avoided disclosing DE stake in Q3 2014 by making use of the “”. In Q4 2014, the position was increased by another 125% at prices between $80 and $91. The stock currently trades at $94.34. The stake is at 1.57% of the portfolio and Buffett controls ~5% of the business.DIRECTV (DTV):  DTV is a 2.71% position first purchased in Q3 2011. The bulk of the current stake was purchased in Q4 2011 at prices between $40.60 and $47.87. In Q2 2014, the position was reduced by around one-third at prices between $74 and $88.25. In Q3 2014, the pattern reversed: a ~28% stake increase at prices between $83.55 and $87.72 and that was followed with a ~5% increase the following quarter at prices between $82.56 and $87.89.Note: AT&T (T) acquired DTV in a $95 per share cash-and-stock deal ($28.50 per share cash and the rest in stock protected with a collar) and that transaction closed in July.General Motors (GM):  GM is a 1.27% of the US long portfolio position that was first purchased in Q1 2012 at prices between $21 and $30. The stake was increased by 60% in Q2 2013 at prices between $27.53 and $35.03.  Q1 2014 saw a 25% reduction at prices between $34 and $41 and the following quarter saw an about-turn: 9.86% increase at prices between $31.93 and $37.09. Q3 2014 saw another ~21% increase at prices between $31.94 and $37.97. The stock currently trades at $31.50.Goldman Sachs (GS): GS is 2.46% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q4 2013. Berkshire Hathaway received $5B worth of warrants to buy GS stock during the financial crisis (October 2008) at a strike price of $115 (43.5M shares) that was to expire October 1, 2013. Buffett exercised the right before expiry to start this long position. GS currently trades at $202.International Business Machines (IBM): IBM is Buffett’s third-largest stake at 12.07% of the portfolio. The original position was purchased in Q3 2011 at prices between $157.54 and $185.21. Since then, the stake has gone up by almost 40% through periodic purchases. The stock currently trades at $156. Berkshire’s cost-basis on IBM is at around $170. Buffett is very bullish on IBM and controls ~8% of the business. For investors attempting to follow Buffett, IBM is a very good option to consider for further research.Liberty Media (LMCA) (LMCK): LMCA is a petite 0.40% stake first purchased in Q4 2011. It was increased by ~75% in Q1 2012 and roughly doubled the next quarter. Q2 2014 saw a ~24% stake reduction and since then has been kept steady.Moody’s Inc. (MCO):  MCO is a 2.48% of the US long portfolio stake. It is a very long-term position and Buffett’s cost basis is ~$10.  The stock currently trades at $111. The stock returned around 48% in 2013, 23% in 2014, and another ~15% so far this year. Berkshire controls 11.5% of the business.Precision Castparts (PCP): PCP had seen steady buying in the last two quarters. Q4 2014 saw a ~37% increase at prices between $218 and $243 and last quarter saw another ~47% increase at prices between $200 and $241. The stock currently trades at $231.Note: On August 10th, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy PCP in a $235 per share cash deal.Restaurant Brands International (QSR): QSR is a 0.30% of the US long portfolio position established in Q4 2014 at prices between $35 and $42. The stock currently trades just outside that range at $42.60. The stock started trading in December 2014 following a merger/rename transaction between Tim Hortons and Burger King Worldwide - QSR has already increased ~24% since the first day of trading (12/10/2014). There was heavy activist involvement previously and the latest filing show Bill Ackman directly owning 38M shares (18.80% of business). Berkshire’s stake in the business is at around 4.2%.Suncor Energy (SU): SU is a small 0.57% of the US long portfolio position first purchased in Q2 2013 at prices between $27.40 and $32. Last year saw a ~24% increase at prices between $27.74 and $43.08. The stock currently trades near the low end of their purchase price ranges at $28.45.Twenty First Century Fox (FOX) (FOXA): FOXA is a minutely small 0.19% of the US long portfolio stake established in Q4 2014 at prices between $31.77 and $39.01 and increased by ~31% last quarter at prices between $32.80 and $38.40. The stock currently trades just below those ranges at $30.27.USG Corporation (USG):  USG is a very long-term holding and there was a significant 21.39M share stake increase in Q4 2013 due to conversion of notes at $11.40 per share - Berkshire acquired the convertible notes during the financial crisis (2/2009) and USG opted to redeem them on 12/16/2013. Q2 2014 saw a ~11.5% stake increase at prices between $29.57 and $33.16. The stock currently trades at $32. Buffett controls around 27% of the business and overall cost-basis is at around $19.Verisign Inc. (VRSN): VRSN was first purchased in Q4 2012 at prices between $34.15 and $49.48. The position was more than doubled in Q1 2013 at prices between $38 and $48 and another one-third the following quarter at prices between $44.39 and $49.27. Q1 & Q2 2014 also saw a combined ~17% increase at prices between $47 and $63. The stock currently trades at $71.09. The current position is at ~10% of the business although as a percentage of the portfolio the stake is still very small at 0.75%.Verizon Communications (VZ): VZ is a small 0.65% of the US long portfolio position established in Q1 2014 at prices between $46 and $49.30. It was increased by ~36% the following quarter at prices between $45.94 and $50.05. The stock currently trades at $47.50.Wal-Mart Stores (WMT):  WMT stake was first purchased in 2005. It has since been built up to a 4% position (top-five stake). The position was increased by 4% in Q1 2013 at prices between $68 and $75 and another 17% in Q1 2014 at prices between $72.66 and $78.91. The stock currently trades at $72.37. Berkshire’s cost-basis is at around $56.Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC):  WFC is Buffett’s largest stake at 24.68% of the US long portfolio, well ahead of Coca Cola (KO) which is at 14.64%. Last quarter saw a ~7M share stake increase at prices between $50.72 and $56.17. The previous significant activity was in Q2 2013: over 18M shares were purchased at the time at prices between $34.66 and $38.20. The stock currently trades at $57.33. Berkshire’s cost-basis is at around $25.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 significantly in the following two quarters at prices between $38.49 and $46. The stock is now at $48.17 and the stake is at 0.87% of the US long portfolio.Costco Wholesale (COST), General Electric (GE), Graham Holdings (GHC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kraft Foods Group (KRFT), Lee Enterprises (LEE), M&T Bank (MTB), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Media General (MEG), Mondelez International (MDLZ), NOW Inc. (DNOW), Sanofi (SNY), Torchmark Corporation (TMK), United Parcel Service (UPS), Verisk Analytics (VRSK), and Visa Inc. (V): These are very small positions (less than ~0.6% of the portfolio each) kept steady this quarter.Note 1: Although the relative size of the position is small, it should be noted that Berkshire controls 3.6% of Media General.Note 2: The DNOW position was established in Q2 2014 as a result of National Oilwell Varco’s spin-off of its distribution business.Note 3: Per the , Berkshire has a $2.03B position in Sanofi - so in addition to the 13F securities listed in the spreadsheet, Berkshire also owns Sanofi securities listed in Euronext Paris. The only other large non-US individual stock position reported in the AR is Munich RE at $4B (11.8% of the business). Tesco plc (TSCDY) was a large position listed in the 2013 annual report. Berkshire liquidated that stake in 2014: sold 301M shares and realized $444M in losses.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s US stock holdings in Q2 2015:"