"Tracking Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio – Q2 2023 Update"
"….….….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 8/14/2023. Please visit our  article series for an idea on how his holdings have progressed over the years and  for the moves in Q1 2023.During Q2 2023, Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) (BRK.B) 13F stock portfolio value increased from ~$325B to ~$348B. The top five positions account for ~80% of the portfolio: Apple Inc., Bank of America, American Express, Coca Cola, and Chevron. There are 46 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.In Q2 2023, Berkshire Hathaway repurchased ~3.92M Class B Equivalent Shares for a total outlay of ~$1.30B. The pace of repurchases came down substantially from the $4.44B figure last quarter. The average price paid was ~$333. Book Value as of Q2 2023 was ~$252 per share. So, the repurchase happened at ~132% 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 ~$359. Please see below for the details of the Repurchase Computation:Note 1: Berkshire Hathaway has a ~10% stake in BYD Company (BYDDY) at a cost-basis of ~8 HKD per share. It currently trades in Hong Kong at ~246 HKD. Berkshire’s ownership is down from ~20% as of Q3 2022.Note 2: It was disclosed in August 2020 that Berkshire had built ~5% stakes in five Japanese trading businesses: ITOCHU, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Sumitomo. The stakes were increased to ~8.5% each this quarter. The 2021 AR had the following regarding the initial purchases in three of them: 5.6% ownership stake in ITOCHU Corporation (ITOCF) at a cost-basis of $23.52, 5.5% ownership stake in Mitsubishi Corporation (MSBHF) at a cost-basis of $25.72, and 5.7% ownership stake in Mitsui & Company (MITSF) at a cost-basis of $17.29. ITOCF, MSBHF, and MITSF currently trade at $39.23, $49.42, and $38.98 respectively.New Stakes:D R Horton Inc. (DHI), NVR Inc. (NVR), and Lennar Corp (LEN.B): These are the new positions this quarter. The 0.21% of the portfolio DHI stake was established at prices between ~$96 and ~$123 and the stock currently trades at the top of that range at ~$123. NVR and LEN.B are minutely small new stakes established during the quarter.Stake Disposals:McKesson Corp (MCK): MCK was a 0.25% of the portfolio position established during the two quarters through Q3 2022 at prices between ~$245 and ~$336. There was a one-third reduction in the last two quarters at prices between ~$335 and ~$398. The disposal this quarter was at prices between ~$354 and ~$427. The stock is now at ~$438.Marsh & McLennan (MMC): MMC was a small 0.02% of the portfolio stake established in Q3 2020 at prices between ~$107 and ~$119. There was a ~25% stake increase in Q4 2020 at prices between ~$103 and ~$119. That was followed with a similar increase next quarter at prices between ~$108 and ~$122. Q2 2021 saw an about turn: ~20% selling at prices between ~$122 and ~$142. That was followed with a roughly one-third reduction next quarter at prices between ~$139 and ~$161. The stake was almost eliminated in Q4 2021 at prices between ~$151 and ~$174. The remainder stake was eliminated this quarter. The stock is now at ~$192.Vitesse Energy (VTS): Vitesse Energy is a spin-off from Jefferies that started trading in January. A small stake was established last quarter but was disposed this quarter.Stake Increases:Occidental Petroleum (OXY): Berkshire made a $10B investment in OXY in April 2019 through 100,000 preferred shares that has a liquidation value of $100,000 per share. Those shares pay 8% dividend, and the transaction came with warrants to purchase 83.86M shares at $59.62. In Q1 2022, Berkshire purchased ~136.4M shares at prices between ~$31 and ~$59 per share. That was followed with a ~22M share net-increase in Q2 2022 at prices between ~$57 and ~$60. The next quarter also saw a ~23% stake increase at prices between ~$57 and ~$75. The stock currently trades at $65.11. There was a ~1% further increase this quarter.Note: Including warrants, Berkshire owns close to one-third of the business (~290M shares).Capital One Financial (COF): The 0.39% of the portfolio stake in COF was purchased last quarter at prices between ~$90 and ~$122. There was a ~25% stake increase this quarter at prices between ~$86 and ~$114. The stock currently trades at ~$109.Stake Decreases:Chevron Corp (CVX): CVX is a large (top five) 5.56% of the portfolio position purchased in Q3 2020 at prices between ~$72 and ~$91. Q1 2021 saw a ~50% selling at prices between ~$85 and ~$112 while in Q3 2021 there was a ~25% stake increase at prices between ~$94 and ~$106. That was followed with another one-third increase next quarter at prices between ~$102 and ~$119. Q1 2022 saw a whopping ~315% stake increase at prices between ~$119 and ~$171. The last quarter saw a ~20% reduction at prices between ~$152 and ~$188. That was followed with a ~7% trimming this quarter. The stock currently trades at ~$164.Note: Berkshire has a ~6.5% ownership stake in the business.Note 2: Berkshire likely avoided disclosing these stakes in the Q3 2020 13F filing by making use of the “”. An amendment filed later disclosed the activity.Activision Blizzard (ATVI): ATVI is a 0.35% of the portfolio position established in Q4 2021 at prices between ~$57 and ~$81. Next quarter saw the stake increased by ~340% at prices between ~$63 and ~$82. There was a one-third reduction over the last three quarters. That was followed with a ~70% reduction this quarter. The stock currently trades at ~$91.Note: Microsoft (MSFT) agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $95 per share all-cash deal announced last April.General Motors (GM):  GM is a 0.24% 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. H1 2021 saw a ~17% selling at prices between $40.50 and $64. That was followed with a ~15% reduction in Q2 2022 at prices between ~$31.50 and ~$43. The last quarter also saw a ~20% selling at prices between ~$33 and ~$43. That was followed by a ~45% reduction this quarter at prices between ~$31.50 and ~$38. The stock currently trades at ~$34. Berkshire’s cost-basis on GM is ~$31.Celanese Corp (CE): The 0.18% CE stake was purchased over the last three quarters at prices between ~$88 and ~$174 and the stock currently trades at ~$124. There was a ~40% selling this quarter at prices between ~$100 and ~$118.Globe Life (GL): The minutely small 0.08% stake in GL was reduced by ~60% during the quarter.Kept Steady:Apple Inc. (AAPL): AAPL is currently the largest 13F portfolio stake by far at ~51%. It was built between Q1 2016 and Q1 2018 at a cost-basis of ~$35 per share. Since then, the activity had been minor. The stock currently trades at ~$179.Note: Berkshire has a ~6% ownership stake in the business.Bank of America (BAC): Berkshire established this large (top three) ~9% of the portfolio position through the exercise of Bank of America warrants. The warrants had a strike price of $7.14. 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. The stock currently trades at ~$31.Note: Berkshire’s overall cost-basis is ~$14 and ownership stake is at ~13%. The increase this quarter is due to the  of General RE’s equity holdings to Berkshire’s 13F report.American Express (AXP) and Coca Cola (KO):  These two very large stakes were kept steady during the last ~10 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 ~20% and ~9.2% respectively.Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC): KHC is currently a fairly large position at 3.32% 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 ~$34.25.Moody’s Inc. (MCO):  MCO is a 2.46% 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 ~$339. Berkshire controls ~13% of the business.Citigroup Inc. (C ) and HP Inc. (HPQ): The 0.73% of the portfolio stake in Citigroup was purchased in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$53 and ~$68 and it is now below the low end of that range at ~$44.10. HPQ is a ~1% of the portfolio stake established in Q1 2022 at prices between ~$34 and ~$40 and the stock currently trades below the low end of that range at ~$32.DaVita Inc. (DVA):  DVA is a 0.83% 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 ~$107 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 ~40%.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 ~$208 and the position is at 0.83% of the portfolio (~10% of the business).Kroger Company (KR): KR is a 0.67% of the portfolio position established in Q4 2019 at prices between $24 and $29. The five quarters through Q3 2021 had seen a ~225% stake increase at prices between ~$30 and ~$40. The three quarters through Q3 2022 saw a ~20% selling at prices between ~$44 and ~$52. The stock currently trades at $48.56.Note: Berkshire’s ownership stake in Kroger is ~7%.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 last May. Last November, Berkshire exchanged their 43.66M share stake in Sirius XM for 5.35M additional shares of Liberty Sirius XM Class A tracking stock in a transaction with the parent business. The stock currently trades at $24.30, and the stake is at 0.60% of the portfolio.Aon plc (AON): AON is a 0.43% of the portfolio position established in Q1 2021 at prices between ~$202 and ~$234. Next quarter saw a ~7% increase at prices between ~$230 and ~$259. The stock currently trades at ~$322. There was marginal trimming last quarter.Paramount Global (PARA): PARA is a 0.43% of the portfolio position purchased in Q1 2022 at prices between $27.85 and $38.48. There was a ~14% stake increase next quarter at prices between ~$24.25 and ~$38. That was followed with a similar increase during Q3 2022 at prices between ~$19 and ~$27. The stock currently trades below the low end of their purchase price ranges at $14.93.Charter Communications (CHTR): CHTR is a 0.40% 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. H2 2021 saw another ~25% reduction at prices between ~$605 and ~$821. The stock currently trades at ~$427 compared to Berkshire’s cost-basis of ~$178.Amazon.com (AMZN): AMZN is a 0.40% of the portfolio stake established in Q1 2019 at prices between ~$75 and ~$91 and increased by ~11% next quarter at prices between ~$85 and ~$98. The stock currently trades at ~$141.Snowflake Inc. (SNOW): SNOW had an IPO in September 2020. Shares started trading at ~$229 and currently goes for ~$153. Berkshire acquired ~2% of the business at the IPO price of ~$120 per share.NU Holdings (NU): NU had an IPO last December. Shares started trading at ~$10 and currently goes for $7.94. Berkshire’s ~$1B stake goes back to a funding round in early 2021.Ally Financial (ALLY): The 0.22% ALLY stake saw a whopping ~235% increase in Q2 2022 at prices between ~$32 and ~$53. The stock currently trades below that range at $28.30.Note: Berkshire has a ~9.5% ownership stake in Ally Financial.T-Mobile US (TMUS): TMUS is a small 0.21% 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 ~$140.Markel Corp (MKL): The 0.19% MKL stake was built during H2 2022 at prices between ~$1187 and ~$1504 and it now goes for ~$1505.Liberty Media Formula One (FWONK): FWONK is a small 0.17% of the portfolio position built at prices between ~$52 and ~$70. The stock is now at ~$70.Louisiana-Pacific (LPX): The 0.15% LPX position was established during Q4 2022 at prices between ~$48.40 and ~$65 and it is now at $63.87. There was a ~22% stake increase next quarter at prices between ~$51 and ~$66.Note: Berkshire has a ~9.8% ownership stake in the business.Floor & Décor Holdings (FND): The 0.14% of the portfolio FND position was established in Q3 2021 at prices between ~$104 and ~$131. Q1 2022 saw a ~470% stake increase at prices between ~$81 and ~$130. The stock is now at ~$105.StoneCo Ltd. (STNE): STNE is a 0.04% position purchased in Q4 2018 at ~$21 per share. Q1 2021 saw a ~25% reduction at prices between ~$60 and ~$94. The stock is currently at $13.43.Note: Berkshire has a 4.1% 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.Diageo plc (DEO), Jefferies Financial Group (JEF), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Liberty LiLAC Group (LILA) (LILAK), Mondelez International (MDLZ), MasterCard Inc. (MA), Procter & Gamble (PG), SPDR S&P 500 Index (SPY), United Parcel Service (UPS), Vanguard S&P 500 Index (VOO), and Visa Inc. (V): These small positions (less than ~1% of the portfolio each) were kept steady this quarter.The spreadsheet below highlights changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F stock holdings in Q2 2023:Source: John Vincent. Data constructed from Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filings for Q1 2023 and Q2 2023.6/28/2023: OXY stake increased by 1% to 224M shares.5/2023: Todd Combs Interview -  . PARA stake was acquired at ~$28 per share cost-basis - $2.5B investment.6/19/2023: Berkshire increased stake in the 5 Japanese trading houses to ~8.5% each -  .5/15/2023: PR: General RE holdings separately listed previously is now consolidated in into Berkshire 13F -  .4/11/2023: Berkshire increased stake in the 5 Japanese trading houses to ~7.4% each -  .Bullish Rating Reasoning submitted at SA: Berkshire stock is trading near its intrinsic value. This was validated by Warren Buffett himself as Berkshire repurchased $4.44B worth of shares in Q1 2023.REMINDER: Update the note about Book Value and Repurchases using my . NOTE: The quarterly reports except Q4 come before 13Fs. So, for Q1 to Q3 include something like the following as a Note. For Q4, add a comment after releasing the article (done 2/25/2023): Note: In Q1 2023, Berkshire Hathaway repurchased ~14.37M Class B Equivalent Shares for a total outlay of ~$4.44B. The average price paid was ~$309. Book Value as of Q1 2023 was ~$235 per share. So, the repurchase happened at ~131% 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 ~$324.2/16/2023: SRG – a reader pointed out that Buffett has not been listed as a ~5% owner since their April 2021 proxy statement. So, may be include this info as well after verifying it.Cost-basis Info from 2022 AR – 3/2023: The information which used to appear in the Chairman’s Letter under Investments is no longer published. Previous Info follow: Cost-Basis: AXP – 8.49, AAPL - 34.26, BAC – 14.17, BK – 43.66, CHTR – ~168, CVX - 89.42, KO – 3.25, GM – 30.51, Itochu – ITOCF – 23.52, Mitsubishi – MSBHF – 25.72, Mitsui – MITSF – 17.29, MCO – 10.05, USB – 37.53, VZ – 59.10. Previous Info: ABBV – 91.37, GS – 71.54, JPM – 109, LUV – 41.55, MRK – ~83, UAL – 54.47, V – 34, WFC – 20.36.Regulatory filings from 2/15/2023 to 5/15/2023: None."