10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold

The Oracle of Omaha’s latest stock portfolio moves.

What stocks is Warren Buffett buying and selling? Each quarter, all fund managers with at least $100 million in assets under management must publicly disclose their stock holdings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via Form 13F, giving investors a rare look behind the curtain at some of the largest and most successful hedge funds in the world. The quarterly 13F filing from Wall Street icon Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) is one of the most highly anticipated disclosures. Here are 10 of the biggest changes that the Oracle of Omaha made to Berkshire’s portfolio in the third quarter.

Sold: Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR)

In the third quarter, Buffett cut his stake in U.S. cable TV operator Charter Communications by more than 1 million shares, reducing his total stake size by 19%. Buffett first invested in Charter Communications in the second quarter of 2014. The stock has struggled in the past three months, dropping more than 10%. However, Buffet still holds more than 4.2 million shares of Charter, worth more than $3 billion. Overall, Charter has been an excellent investment for Buffett. The stock has more than doubled the return of the S&P 500 since mid-2014.

Sold: Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK)

Drugmaker Merck was seemingly one way Buffett attempted to invest in the health care industry response to the pandemic in 2020. Buffett began buying shares of Merck in the third quarter of 2020, but he reversed course and began selling in the first quarter of 2021. Over the next three quarters, Buffett exited his Merck position entirely. Merk’s stock price is up about 8% in the past year, and Berkshire sold its remaining 9.16 million shares in the third quarter. Buffett must not have high hopes for Merck’s new COVID-19 pill, which was recently approved by U.K. regulators.

Sold: AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

AbbVie is another pharmaceutical company that may be a Buffett misfire on the pandemic. As with Merck, Buffett began buying AbbVie in the third quarter of 2020 but began selling in the first quarter of 2021. In the third quarter, Berkshire sold 6.13 million shares of ABBV stock, reducing its remaining stake by about 29%. At of the end of the quarter, Berkshire still held more than 14.3 million shares of AbbVie, worth about $1.55 billion. However, if Merck is any indication, Buffett may completely exit his remaining AbbVie investment in coming quarters.

Bought: Chevron Corp. (CVX)

Buffett first invested in U.S. oil major Chevron in the fourth quarter of 2020. Since then, the oil industry and Buffett’s Chevron stake have been on a roller coaster ride. Buffett reduced his Chevron holdings in the first and second quarters of 2021, but a global energy crisis sent crude oil prices soaring to multiyear highs in the third quarter. The shifting energy market appears to have changed Buffett’s mind, as well. Berkshire bought roughly 5.58 million shares of Chevron stock in the third quarter, increasing his stake by about 24% to $2.91 billion.

Bought: Royalty Pharma PLC (RPRX)

Royalty Pharma is the largest new Berkshire holding in the third quarter. Royalty, which buys pharmaceutical royalties, went public in mid-2020. Berkshire disclosed a new 13.1 million-share stake in the company, worth about $475 million. It may seem like a large holding to the average investor, but $475 million is not even large enough to make Royalty Pharma one of Berkshire’s top 30 public stock holdings by value. Still, Buffett tends to accumulate large positions over several quarters of buying, so he may not be finished with Royalty Pharma yet.

Sold: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb is yet another blue-chip pharmaceutical company that Buffett first purchased in the third quarter of 2020. He has since followed the same pattern of buying and selling that he did with Merck and AbbVie. Buffett initially added to his Bristol-Myers stake in late 2020 but has been reducing his position size for three consecutive quarters. In the third quarter, Berkshire sold roughly 4.25 million shares, reducing its position size by about 16%. Given that Buffett completely exited Merck, Berkshire’s remaining 22 million shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb may also be for sale in coming quarters.

Sold: Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. (MMC)

Buffett first invested in insurance broker Marsh & McLennan in the fourth quarter of 2020. Buffett has always loved the insurance business. Berkshire has a significant insurance business, including wholly owned subsidiary Geico. Buffett began trimming his Marsh & McLennan stake in the second quarter and continued in the third quarter by selling 1.45 million shares of MMC stock, cutting its total holdings by about 34%. Berkshire still holds about 2.74 million shares of March & McLennan, worth $415.1 million. The stock has been a strong performer for Buffett in 2021, gaining about 48% this year.

Sold: U.S. Bancorp (USB)

U.S. Bancorp is the only stock on this list that is among Berkshire’s top 10 stock holdings by value. It joins bank stocks Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) among Berkshire’s top 10. In the third quarter, Berkshire sold about 2.47 million shares of USB stock. The good news for U.S. Bancorp investors is that Berkshire still holds more than 126.4 million shares of USB, which is worth $7.51 billion. Berkshire’s third-quarter sale is only about a 1% haircut to Buffett’s total U.S. Bancorp stake.

Bought: Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (FND)

Outside of Royalty Pharma, Floor & Decor was Berkshire’s only new stock purchase in the third quarter. Floor & Decor is a specialty retailer focused on flooring products such as tile, wood, laminate and vinyl. Berkshire bought 816,863 shares of FND stock in the third quarter, totaling $98.7 million, a relatively modest investment by Buffett’s standards. The Oracle of Omaha may be looking for more exposure to the booming U.S. housing and home improvement markets. Floor & Decor shares have already gained more than 170% since the beginning of 2020, but Buffett appears to be betting that the rally still has legs.

Bought: Liberty Sirius XM Group (LSXMA)

Buffett did some shuffling with his investments in American billionaire John Malone’s Liberty empire. Berkshire completely exited its position in Liberty Global PLC (LBTYK), selling 1.88 million shares of class C stock. Liberty Global is Malone’s international telecom company. But Buffett also bought 5.35 million shares of Liberty Sirius XM Series A, giving him a stake in Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) and Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (LYV). Berkshire now holds about $1.03 billion of Liberty Sirius XM Series A shares, along with $2.05 billion of Liberty Sirius XM Group Series C (LSXMK) shares.

Warren Buffett just bought and sold these stocks:

— Sold: Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR)

— Sold: Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK)

— Sold: AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

— Bought: Chevron Corp. (CVX)

— Bought: Royalty Pharma PLC (RPRX)

— Sold: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY)

— Sold: Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. (MMC)

— Sold: U.S. Bancorp (USB)

— Bought: Floor & Decor Holdings Inc. (FND)

— Bought: Liberty Sirius XM Group (LSXMA)

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