Oracle of Omaha reveals 1st-quarter portfolio

Summary

  • The guru invested in two new stocks.
  • He sold out of Bank of New York Mellon
    BK
    , RH, Taiwan Semiconductor and U.S. Bancorp
    TBBK
    .
  • He also added to Apple
    AAPL
    while trimming the Chevron
    CVX
    position.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial), the multibillion-dollar conglomerate run by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed its equity portfolio for the first quarter of 2023 on Monday.

With a cash pile of over $130 billion to spend on stocks at the end of March, the renowned guru and his two portfolio managers, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs,dedicated a lot of cash to scaling up the investment in Occidental Petroleum
OXY
Corp. (OXY, Financial). It now owns 23.57% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Other notable buys for the quarter that were reported in the 13F filing included new positions in Capital One
COF
Financial Corp. (COF, Financial) and Diageo PLC (DEO, Financial) and an increased bet on Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial).

As for the sell side, Berkshire exited Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK, Financial), RH (RH, Financial), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM, Financial) and U.S. Bancorp (USB, Financial). He also trimmed the Chevron Corp. (CVX
CVX
, Financial) stake.

Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.

Berkshire’s five largest holdings, accounting for over half of the equity portfolio, are Apple, Bank of America
BAC
Corp. (BAC, Financial), American Express
AXP
Co. (AXP, Financial), Coca-Cola
KO
Co. (KO, Financial) and Chevron.

The guru’s $325.11 billion equity portfolio consisted of 48 stocks as of March 31.

Occidental Petroleum

As previously disclosed, Buffett increased his Occidental Petroleum (OXY, Financial) stake by 8.93% during the first quarter, buying 17.35 million shares. The transaction had an impact of 0.33% on the equity portfolio. The stock traded for an average price of $62.13 per share during the quarter.

The position currently occupies 4.17% of the equity portfolio and is now his sixth-largest holding at 211.71 million shares. He has gained approximately 9.49% on the investment so far.

The Houston-based oil and gas producer has a $52.06 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $58.38 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 4.60, a price-book ratio of 2.58 and a price-sales ratio of 1.60.

The GF Value Line suggests the stock is modestly overvalued currently based on historical ratios, past financial performance and analysts’ future earnings projections.

Capital One

The guru invested in 9.92 million shares of Capital One Financial (COF, Financial), allocating 0.29% of the equity portfolio to the position. Shares traded for an average price of $104.67 each during the quarter.

The bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia has a market cap of $33.95 billion; its shares were trading around $88.92 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-book ratio of 0.60 and a price-sales ratio of 0.95.

According to the GF Value Line
VALU
, the stock is significantly undervalued currently.

Diageo

The investor picked up 277,750 shares of Diageo (DEO, Financial), dedicating 0.01% of the equity portfolio to the holding. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average per-share price of $176.49.

The British manufacturer of beer and spirits, which has brands like Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Don Julio under its umbrella, has a $100.87 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $179.13 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 23.43, a price-book ratio of 9.90 and a price-sales ratio of 4.77.

Based on the GF Value Line, the stock appears to be modestly undervalued currently.

Bank of New York Mellon

The guru sold his remaining 25.07 million shares of Bank of New York Mellon (BK, Financial), impacting the equity portfolio by -0.38%. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average price of $48.49 per share.

GuruFocus found he gained an estimated 3.70% on the long-held investment.

The New York-based investment bank has a market cap of $32.12 billion; its shares were trading around $40.70 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-book ratio of 0.89 and a price-sales ratio of 2.01.

The GF Value Line suggests the stock is modestly undervalued currently.

RH

Buffett divested of his 2.36 million-share stake in RH (RH, Financial), which impacted the equity portfolio by -0.21%. Shares traded for an average price of $290.30 each during the quarter.

GuruFocus data shows he gained/lost around 31.10% on the investment over its lifetime.

The furniture retailer, which is headquartered in Corte Madera, California, has a $5.83 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $264.63 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 13.40, a price-book ratio of 7.44 and a price-sales ratio of 1.96.

According to the GF Value Line, the stock is significantly undervalued currently.

Taiwan Semiconductor

The guru dumped his 8.30 million remaining shares of Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM, Financial). The transaction had an impact of -0.21% on the equity portfolio. The stock traded for an average per-share price of $89.76 during the quarter.

GuruFocus estimates he lost 9.56% on the short-lived investment.

The Taiwanese company, which manufactures semiconductor chips, has a $444.24 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $85.66 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-book ratio of 4.55 and a price-sales ratio of 5.79.

Based on GF Value Line, the stock appears to be significantly undervalued currently.

U.S. Bancorp

The investor exited his 6.67 million-share stake in U.S. Bancorp (USB, Financial). The transaction had an impact of -0.10% on the equity portfolio. The stock traded for an average price of $44.54 per share during the quarter.

GuruFocus says he gained about 42% on the investment.

The Minneapolis-based bank has a market cap of $45.45 billion; its shares were trading around $29.65 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 7.89, a price-book ratio of 0.97 and a price-sales ratio of 1.66.

The GF Value Line suggests the stock is significantly undervalued currently.

Apple

The Oracle of Omaha increased the Apple (AAPL, Financial) stake by 2.28%, buying 20.42 million shares. The transaction impacted the equity portfolio by 1.04%. Shares traded for an average price of $147.55 each during the quarter.

Buffett now holds a total of 132.41 million shares, which occupy 46.44% of the equity portfolio as his largest holding. GuruFocus data indicates he has gained 314.48% on the investment to date.

Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the manufacturer of consumer electronics like the iPhone, Mac computer and Apple Watch has a $2.71 trillion market cap; its shares were trading around $172.07 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 29.21, a price-book ratio of 43.78 and a price-sales ratio of 7.16.

According to the GF Value Line, the stock is fairly valued currently.

Chevron

With an impact of -1.83% on the equity portfolio, Buffett trimmed the Chevron (CVX, Financial) stake by 18.76%, selling 30.57 million shares. During the quarter, the stock traded for an average per-share price of $167.65.

He now holds 132.41 million shares total, accounting for 6.65% of the equity portfolio. GuruFocus estimates he has gained 19.94% on the investment so far, which is his fifth-largest holding.

The energy giant based in San Ramon, California has a market cap of $297.84 billion; its shares were trading around $157.20 on Monday with a price-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-book ratio of 1.85 and a price-sales ratio of 1.30.

Based on the GF Value Line, the stock is modestly undervalued currently.

See the rest of Buffett’s portfolio here.

Disclosures

I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gurufocus/2023/05/16/warren-buffett-buys-capital-one-and-diageo-sells-out-of-4-stocks/