Buffett and his investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, reshaped the portfolio over the last year as Covid-19 struck the US. The company was heavily invested in the banking sector, which has done well in the pandemic but is exposed to consumer finances and commercial real estate. The conglomerate has spent recent months lightening up on some of those lenders, while maintaining bets on firms such as Bank of America Corp.
Berkshire cut a few bank holdings, exiting JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and M&T Bank Corp. while slashing its Wells Fargo & Co. stake by 59%. The company also shifted recent bets on drugmakers by increasing stakes in Merck & Co., Abbvie Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. It ended a recent investment in Pfizer Inc.
Gold, GM
Berkshire also exited a bet on Barrick Gold Corp. The stake was a surprise when it was revealed last year, given Buffett’s years of criticizing investments in the precious metal. The company also trimmed its wager on General Motors Co., cutting that holding to a stake valued at roughly US$3 billion at the end of the fourth quarter.
Some of the new stakes were sizable. Berkshire held an investment in Chevron valued at nearly US$4.1 billion at the end of 2020, while its Marsh & McLennan bet was valued at US$499 million. Berkshire accumulated a US$8.6 billion stake in Verizon, a company that it had previously bet on but cut in 2019.
Verizon stock was up 4.1% to US$56.35 at 8.01 am in early New York trading, while Chevron gained 4.1% as well, to US$96.99.
