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 $980 billion company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B). Here’s a look at 10 changes the Oracle of Omaha made to Berkshire’s portfolio in recent months:
| Stock | Changes in Shares* | % Change |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | -389,368,450 | -49.3% |
| Bank of America Corp. (BAC) | -104,391,067** | -10.1% |
| Snowflake Inc. (SNOW) | -6,125,376 | Sold all |
| Chevron Corp. (CVX) | -4,369,673 | -3.5% |
| Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) | +7,263,396 | +2.9% |
| Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) | -2,651,978 | -21.2% |
| Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) | +690,106 | New holding |
| Chubb Ltd. (CB) | +1,109,944 | +4.2% |
| Heico Corp. (HEI) | +1,044,242 | New Holding |
| Paramount Global (PARA) | -7,531,765 | Sold all |
*As of Aug. 14 13F filing covering Q2.**Filed in July-August via Form 4.
Sold: Apple Inc. (AAPL)
The biggest change Buffett made to Berkshire’s portfolio in the second quarter was cutting his largest stock position roughly in half. Berkshire sold 389.3 million shares of Apple stock, bringing its total number of shares down to an even 400 million. Buffett has not given a public explanation for the Apple sale, but he may have given investors a clue that he’s done selling. Buffett has held exactly 400 million shares of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) stock since 1994 without selling a single share. Even after the sale, Berkshire’s $90.6 billion remaining Apple stake is its largest by far.
Sold: Bank of America Corp. (BAC)
In filings separate from Berkshire’s quarterly 13F, Buffett revealed that he has been aggressively selling another top holding in recent weeks — Bank of America. Beginning in July, Berkshire filed a series of Form 4 disclosures for sales of Bank of America stock totaling about 100 million shares. As of Aug. 19, Berkshire still holds about 928.4 million shares of BAC stock worth about $36.9 billion. Buffett first invested in Bank of America back in 2011 during the European debt crisis, but he has exited or dialed back his exposure to several bank stocks in recent years.
Sold: Snowflake Inc. (SNOW)
Buffett has historically shied away from high-profile initial public offerings, but he made an exception by investing in Snowflake’s 2020 IPO. Roughly four years later, Buffett fully exited his position, dumping all 6.1 million shares of his SNOW stock. The Oracle of Omaha may now wish he had stuck to his rule of thumb to avoid IPOs. Berkshire likely made a modest profit on its Snowflake investment. However, Buffett was most certainly hoping for a better return.
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 has since pivoted back and forth between buying and selling. In the second quarter, Berkshire sold about 4.3 million CVX shares, bringing Buffett’s stake down to 118.6 million shares worth about $17.7 billion.
Bought: Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
Occidental Petroleum is one of the largest U.S. oil and gas companies. Buffett has held a stake in Occidental since Berkshire helped bankroll Occidental’s $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum back in 2019. Berkshire’s Occidental stake has grown to about 255.2 million shares worth about $14.8 billion, making OXY stock one of Buffett’s six largest stock holdings. Berkshire also reportedly holds $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock and warrants to buy $5 billion of OXY shares at $59.62 each. Berkshire now owns about 28% of Occidental and has regulatory approval to acquire up to 50%.
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Sold: 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 also holds large stakes in Visa Inc. (V), Mastercard Inc. (MA) and American Express Co. (AXP), but he reduced his stake in Capital One by about 21% in the second quarter. Berkshire first bought Capital One shares in the first quarter of 2023, and Capital One’s total return has outpaced the S&P 500’s since the beginning of 2023. Berkshire still owns 9.8 million shares of COF stock worth about $1.4 billion.
Bought: Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA)
Ulta Beauty is one of the largest U.S. beauty retailers, providing salon services and selling fragrance, cosmetic, skin care and hair care products. Most quarters, Buffett takes at least one or two surprising new stakes. In the second quarter, Ulta was his largest brand new stake. Ulta appears to be a classic Buffett value investment. The stock is trading at about 15 times forward earnings. It also has a popular, well-established brand in the beauty business and has a healthy balance sheet. Berkshire has acquired 690,106 shares of Ulta stock worth about $261.8 million.
Bought: Chubb Ltd. (CB)
Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. Buffett took a massive new stake in Chubb in the first quarter of 2024, adding to his sizable exposure to the insurance industry. He continued buying Chubb shares in the second quarter, adding another 1.1 million shares and bringing Berkshire’s total investment up to more than 27 million shares worth roughly $7.4 billion. Berkshire’s investment represents about a 6.5% ownership stake in Chubb. Chubb’s stock has generated about a 21% total return this year, suggesting Buffett’s investment has paid off so far.
Bought: Heico Corp. (HEI)
The other brand new holding Berkshire disclosed in the second quarter is aerospace and defense company Heico. Heico produces replacement parts for aircraft engines and specialized electronic equipment for military and spacecraft applications. Heico would potentially benefit from an aging fleet of commercial aircrafts that need replacement parts. Or Buffett may be betting on an increase in global geopolitical tensions and military spending. He may also be adding some defensive positions to Berkshire’s portfolio in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. Whatever the reason, Berkshire has purchased more than 1 million shares of HEI stock worth about $201 million.
Sold: Paramount Global (PARA)
Paramount Global is a global entertainment company formed from the merger of Viacom and CBS in 2019. The company owns Paramount Pictures TV and movie studios, TV networks such as CBS and Comedy Central, and streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Berkshire first invested in Paramount in the first quarter of 2022, and Paramount shares are down about 62% since the beginning of 2022. Berkshire has been cutting its Paramount losses since the fourth quarter of 2023. In the second quarter, Berkshire dumped all of its remaining 7.5 million or so shares, completely exiting its Paramount investment.
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10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/26/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
