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- Berkshire Hathaway, which is led by famed value investor Warren Buffett, released on Friday SEC filings showing which company stocks it bought, sold, and held in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- At the end of the year, the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio was worth roughly $248 billion, up from about $234 billion at the end of the third quarter in 2019.
- Buffett wrote in a 2018 letter to shareholders that he expected Berkshire Hathaway would increase holdings in company stocks in 2019.
- Here are the top stocks he bought or sold in the fourth quarter as of December 31, 2019.
- Read more on Business Insider.
Famed billionaire investor and "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett's company just rebalanced the portfolio of stocks it's holding.
Berkshire Hathaway, which Buffett runs, on Friday released Securities and Exchange Commission filings showing what it bought and sold in the fourth quarter of 2019.
In the quarter, Berkshire Hathaway made some strategic moves that grew the portfolio to nearly $248 billion, up from about $234 billion at the end of the third-quarter of 2019. The 89-year-old value investor wrote in his 2018 letter to shareholders that he expected Berkshire Hathaway to buy more company stocks through 2019.
"In recent years, the sensible course for us to follow has been clear: Many stocks have offered far more for our money than we could obtain by purchasing businesses in their entirety," Buffett wrote.
Most notably, Berkshire Hathaway sold about 1.5% of its Apple shares in the fourth quarter, which amounted to about $800 million. While the amount of money seems like a lot, it's a very small portion of Berkshire Hathaway's investment and total portfolio, meaning the change was likely a rebalancing move.
The company also made some new purchases in the quarter using Buffett's investment guidelines of "calculating whether a portion of an attractive business is worth more than its market price."
Berkshire Hathaway added new positions in Kroger and Biogen, which sent shares of both companies up in early trading Tuesday. The company also increased investments in a number of stocks it previously held, while reducing its position in others.
Even though Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stock holdings in the last year, Buffett would prefer to use the record $128 billion cash pile to purchase a company instead of stock. But, the market has proved unfavorable for a Buffett-worthy acquisition as of late — his last major purchase was in 2016.
"Prices are sky-high for businesses possessing decent long-term prospects," Buffett wrote in his 2018 shareholder letter. "We continue, nevertheless, to hope for an elephant-sized acquisition."
Here are the top stocks that Berkshire Hathaway bought and sold as of December 31, according to SEChttps://markets.businessinsider.com/chart/oxy filings and GuruFocus data.
Bought: Kroger
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Ticker:KR
Status in portfolio: New purchase
Total shares: 18,940,079
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Bought: Biogen
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Ticker:BIIB
Status in portfolio: New purchase
Total shares: 648,447
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Bought: Occidental Petroleum
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Ticker:OXY
Status in portfolio: Added to existing position
Total shares: 18,933,054
Change in position: +154%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Bought: Suncor Energy
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Ticker:SU
Status in portfolio: Added to existing position
Total shares: 15,019,031
Change in position: +40%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Bought: RH
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Ticker:RH
Status in portfolio: Added to existing position
Total shares: 1,708,348
Change in position: +41%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Bought: General Motors
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Ticker:GM
Status in portfolio: Added to existing position
Total shares: 75 million
Change in position: +4%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Sold: Wells Fargo
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Ticker: WFC
Status in portfolio: Reduced existing position
Total shares: 323,212,918
Change in position: -15%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Sold: Goldman Sachs
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Ticker:GS
Status in portfolio: Reduced existing position
Total shares: 12,004,751
Change in position: -35%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Sold: The Travelers Companies
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Ticker:TRV
Status in portfolio: Reduced existing position
Total shares: 312,379
Change in position: -95%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Sold: Apple
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Ticker:AAPL
Status in portfolio: Reduced existing position
Total shares: 245,155,566
Change in position: -1.5%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data
Sold: Phillips 66
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Ticker:PSX
Status in portfolio: Reduced existing position
Total shares: 227,436
Change in position: -96%
Source: SEC filings, GuruFocus data