You need to keep up on Warren Buffett stocks, because while the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) chief sticks to a winning investing formula, that doesn't mean sitting still.
In the second quarter of 2022, Buffett's Berkshire snapped up more than 21 million shares of Ally Financial (ALLY), more than tripling its stake in the consumer digital bank. Ally specializes in auto lending.
Berkshire also increased its position in Paramount Global (PARA) by 13%. The Paramount+ streaming service is a small but growing rival to Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.
According to a 13F filing in August, Buffett also added to top holding Apple (AAPL) as well as Chevron (CVX) in Q2.
Since the quarter end, Berkshire has significantly boosted its position in Occidental Petroleum (OXY). On Aug. 19, Berkshire disclosed that it won regulatory approval to increase its Occidental stake to 50% vs. roughly 20% currently.
Oil prices soared following the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, though they have retreated since then.
While growing Apple holdings in Q2, Berkshire kept many of its biggest and longest-held positions steady. Those include Bank of America (BAC) and Kraft Heinz (KHC), as well as Coca-Cola (KO) and American Express (AXP).
Top Warren Buffett Stocks By Size
At the end of June, these were the top 10 Warren Buffett stocks by number of shares:
Bank of America (BAC), 1.01 billion
Apple (AAPL), 894.8 million
Coca-Cola (KO), 400 million
Kraft Heinz (KHC), 325.6 million
Occidental Petroleum (OXY), 272.2 million
Chevron (CVX), 161.4 million
American Express (AXP), 151.6 million
U.S. Bancorp (USB), 119.8 million
Nu Holdings (NU), 107.1 million
HP (HPQ), 104.5 million
Berkshire Hathaway Investment Strategy
Buffett is known as a buy-and-hold investor, hanging on to stocks for years and even decades. But there has been major turnover lately.
In 2021, Berkshire Hathaway exited Biogen (BIIB), Merck (MRK), Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) and Merck spinoff Organon (OGN), not long after opening stakes in those drug stocks. The company dumped AbbVie (ABBV), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) and Royalty Pharma (RPRX) in 2022, also not long after buying them for the first time.
In 2020, Berkshire bought, then quickly sold Pfizer (PFE) and Barrick Gold (GOLD). It also ditched Costco (COST), as well as all of its airlines stocks amid the coronavirus hit to global air travel.
Berkshire exited drywall maker USG (USG) in 2019, IBM (IBM) in 2018, and General Electric (GE) in 2017.
Top Buffett stocks tend to be dividend growers. Take Coca-Cola stock, which Buffett began gathering in 1988 and which has grown dividends for 61 years in a row.
Between 1965 and 2021, the widely followed Berkshire Hathaway portfolio posted a 20.1% compound annual gain, nearly double that of the S&P 500 index, with dividends included.
Apple Stock Is No. 1 By Value
While Bank of America is the No. 1 Warren Buffett stock by number of shares, Apple is the No. 1 stock in Berkshire's portfolio by market value, worth a whopping $122.33 billion at the end of June.
Apple stock makes up 40% of Berkshire's total equity portfolio, up from 6% at the end of 2016. It accounts for a big chunk of the portfolio's surge in value over that period.
The Oracle of Omaha is a major institutional owner of AAPL stock, which you could call the poster child for Warren Buffett stocks due to its strong earnings, returns and management.
