What stocks has Warren Buffett bought and sold lately? Each quarter, all fund managers with at least $100 million in assets must publicly disclose their stock holdings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via form 13F, giving investors a rare peek behind the curtain of some of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds.
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One of the most anticipated quarterly filings comes from Buffett and his $712 billion company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B).
Here’s a look at 10 of the biggest changes the Oracle of Omaha made to Berkshire’s portfolio in the first quarter:
| Stock | Q1 change in holding |
| Chevron Corp. (CVX) | -18.8% |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | +2.3% |
| Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) | Sold out |
| Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) | +8.9% |
| Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) | New holding |
| RH (RH) | Sold out |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM) | Sold out |
| Bank of America Corp. (BAC) | +2.3% |
| U.S. Bancorp (USB) | Sold out |
| Diageo PLC (DEO) | New holding |
Sold: Chevron Corp. (CVX)
Buffett first invested in U.S. oil major Chevron in the fourth quarter of 2020. Buffett sold Chevron shares in the first and second quarters of 2021, but a global energy crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent crude oil prices soaring to 13-year highs in 2022. In response, Buffett added to his Chevron investment in the first three quarters of 2022 but pivoted again and sold 2.3 million shares in the fourth quarter and another 30.5 million shares in the first quarter of 2023. Berkshire still holds 132.4 million shares worth about $20.8 billion as of market close on May 15.
Bought: Apple Inc. (AAPL)
In the first quarter, Buffett added another 20.4 million shares to his massive Apple stake, bringing his total investment up to more than 915.5 million shares worth a whopping $157.5 billion. Buffett first invested in Apple back in the first quarter of 2016. Today, Berkshire’s Apple stake is more than five times larger than any of its other public stock holdings and represents 46.4% of Berkshire’s total portfolio. Apple’s stock has outperformed so far in 2023, and it has been a home run investment for Buffett, generating a 616.4% total return since the beginning of 2016.
Sold: Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK)
Bank of New York Mellon is a trust bank, which involves managing cash for large investment funds, providing day-to-day funding for large corporations and serving as a fixed-income clearing firm. The bank generates much of its income from transaction fees. Buffett first invested in BK stock back in the third quarter of 2010, but he sold the last 25 million or so shares of his stake in the first quarter after aggressively reducing his holdings in the previous two quarters. BK stock’s total return significantly lagged behind the S&P 500 during the more than 12 years Buffett owned it.
Bought: Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
Occidental Petroleum is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, and oil and gas stocks have been top market performers since the beginning of 2022. Buffett has held a stake in Occidental since Berkshire helped bankroll Occidental’s $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum back in 2019. Berkshire’s stake in Occidental has grown to more than 211.7 million shares worth about $12.4 billion, making OXY stock one of Buffett’s six largest stock holdings. Berkshire also holds 83.9 million warrants that can be redeemed for Occidental common stock at a price of $59.62 per share.
Bought: Capital One Financial Corp. (COF)
Capital One Financial is a large, diversified financial services holding company that provides consumer and commercial banking products and is one of the largest credit card issuers. Buffett already holds large stakes in Visa Inc. (V), Mastercard Inc. (MA) and American Express Co. (AXP), so his new stake in Capital One isn’t the most surprising development. Buffett may see financial sector weakness tied to the regional banking crisis as a buying opportunity. He probably also likes the stock’s attractive 6.3 forward earnings multiple. In the first quarter, Berkshire bought 9.9 million shares of COF stock worth about $884.2 million.
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Sold: RH (RH)
Buffett first invested in high-end home furnishings company RH in the third quarter of 2019, but he sold out of his stake in the first quarter. Formerly known as Restoration Hardware, RH has rebranded itself as a “lifestyle” company focused largely on online sales. RH’s revenue and net income were both down year over year in 2022, and the stock is also down 5.4% in the past 12 months. Buffett passed on the opportunity to buy the dip, instead opting to dump his entire 2.3 million-share stake. Unfortunately, Buffett missed out on exiting at the stock’s peak back in 2021.
Sold: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM)
One of Buffett’s biggest 180-degree turns in recent quarters has been Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. In the third quarter of 2022, Buffett surprised Wall Street with a massive new $4.1 billion stake in TSM, making the stock one of Berkshire’s 10 largest holdings. However, he reversed course just one quarter later, selling more than 51.7 million shares of TSM stock in the fourth quarter and Berkshire’s remaining 8.3 million shares of TSM in the first quarter. Something must have changed Buffett’s mind about the semiconductor foundry, news that comes as a major disappointment for other Taiwan Semi investors.
Bought: Bank of America Corp. (BAC)
Buffett first invested in Bank of America back in 2011 during the European debt crisis. He has long been a strong believer in banks, but he has exited or dialed back his exposure to several of his bank stocks in recent quarters. Bank of America is an exception. In the first quarter, Buffett bought another 22.7 million shares of BAC stock, bringing his total stake up to 1.03 billion shares representing 12.9% ownership of the company. Buffett’s $28.6 billion position in Bank of America is Berkshire’s second-largest stock holding behind Apple.
Sold: U.S. Bancorp (USB)
Long-time Buffett followers weren’t surprised to see him exit his U.S. Bancorp position in the first quarter. In the same quarter of 2022, Berkshire sold off its last remaining shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) after more than 20 years of holding the stock, leaving U.S. Bancorp as Berkshire’s longest-running bank stock holding. Buffett first invested in U.S. Bancorp back in 2006, but he trimmed his stake aggressively in the third and fourth quarters. Berkshire sold its remaining 6.6 million shares of USB stock in early 2023, closing out Buffett’s investment in the bank after 17 years.
Bought: Diageo PLC (DEO)
Diageo is a leading global wine and spirits company and is the owner of the popular Guinness stout brand. Berkshire took a new 227,750-share stake in DEO stock in the first quarter worth $40.8 million. However, Buffett has a long history with Diageo. Way back in 1991, Berkshire purchased 31.2 million shares of Guinness worth about $302 million, making it one of Buffett’s largest holdings at the time. Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo in 1997, and Buffett has entered and exited positions in the company multiple times over the years.
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10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/16/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
