Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on Tuesday announced two major new investments, revealing a $ 8.6 billion stake in telephone company Verizon Communications and a $ 4.1 billion stake in oil company Chevron.
The investments were set out on December 31 in a regulatory offering in which Berkshire’s US listed shares are owned.
Berkshire also announced a new $ 499 million stake in professional services firm Marsh & McLennan.
To make room, Berkshire has compared its investments in several companies, including Apple, although the iPhone maker owns by far its largest common stock at around $ 121 billion.
Verizon shares rose 3 percent, Chevron rose 2.2 percent and Marsh was unchanged in the after-hours trading after Berkshire’s submission.
Tuesday’s submission indicates where Buffett and his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler see value, although Buffett usually handles larger investments.
It also shows that Berkshire is finding ways to use its $ 145.7 billion cash return on September 30.
The conglomerate in Omaha, Nebraska, owns more than 90 businesses, including Geico Motor Insurance, BNSF Railroad and Dairy Queen Ice, but has made a $ 32.1 billion purchase of Precision Castparts five years since its last major takeover. .
Berkshire began investing in Verizon, Chevron and Marsh by the third quarter of last year and received permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to postpone the disclosure of the interests.
The SEC has repeatedly persuaded Berkshire to invest in companies several times over the years, to prevent investors from bidding on Buffett’s inputs and raising companies’ share prices before Berkshire finishes buying.
Berkshire, a major investor in Bank of America, pointed to smaller banking competitors during the filing on Tuesday, reducing its stake in Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, M&T Bank and PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
Berkshire has also invested more in drugmakers Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co., while holding a small stake in COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer Pfizer Inc. sold. It also shook off mining company Barrick Gold Corp.
Doug Kass, managing partner of Seabreeze Capital Investment in Palm Beach, Florida, said the Verizon share is ‘meaningful’ for Berkshire, which reflects the telephone company’s dividend payouts and the prospects for wireless revenue growth.
The reduced bank interest may reflect Buffett’s concerns about the persistently low interest rates and loan losses associated with the coronavirus, Kass added.
Berkshire should provide more details on its investments when it announces year-end results and Buffett’s annual shareholder letter on February 27.