Warren Buffett Is Betting Big On Consumer Staples

Javier Hasse
0

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway recently disclosed its long equity stakes as of September 30, 2015.

It is not very usual to see Warren Buffett's equity portfolio undergo many changes in one quarter. However, the third quarter was not a regular one. Consequently, neither were the investors' moves, who took advantage of the low stock prices to increase the value of his holdings from $109.57 billion last quarter to $127.4 billion this quarter.

Over the third quarter of 2015, Berkshire Hathaway opened four new equity positions: Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Liberty Global PLC LiLAC Class A (NASDAQ: LILA) and Liberty Global PLC LiLAC Class C (NASDAQ: LILAK). The fund also increased its exposure to 10 other stocks, trimmed its stakes in seven companies and closed out its positions in three of them.

Interestingly, financial stocks no longer dominated the portfolio. As of the end of the third quarter, it was consumer staples that saw the largest amount of assets allocated, accounting for 37 percent of the portfolio’s value – up from 23 last quarter. On the other hand, financial stocks represented 45 percent last quarter, but now stand for 36 percent of the portfolio.

Related Link: David Tepper's Top Q3 Moves Include General Motors, Airlines And Alibaba

Among new stakes, Kraft Heinz was the largest. Between July and September, Berkshire purchased 325,634,818 shares of the food and beverage company, worth almost $23 billion. This stake, which accounts for 18 percent of the firm’s portfolio, makes it the biggest institutional investor in the company, owning more than 26 percent of its outstanding shares.

The three positions exited were: DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) (which was acquired by AT&T), Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) and Kraft Foods Group Inc (NASDAQ: KRFT), which changed its ticker and name when it merged with Heinz.

Over the third quarter, the Oracle of Omaha doubled his exposure to Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), disclosing ownership of 61,486,926 shares of the company, worth more than $4.7 billion, becoming the largest institutional investor in the company.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.

See more from Benzinga

© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories