To The Moon

Berkshire Hathaway released its holdings for Q1 of 2023.

The data shows that the total market value of $Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B)$ 's holdings increased from $299.08 bln to $325.09 bln in Q1. At the shareholders' meeting, Warren Buffett stated that he was a net seller of stocks in the first quarter.

According to the 13F, Berkshire Hathaway sold stocks worth $13.2 billion and made purchases worth $2.8 billion in the first quarter.

The top five holdings were $Apple(AAPL)$, $Bank of America(BAC)$ , $American Express(AXP)$ , $Coca-Cola(KO)$ , and $Chevron(CVX)$ .

Top Buys of Buffett

1. $Apple(AAPL)$: added 20.42 million shares

Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in $Apple(AAPL)$ by 20.42 million shares, with a total holding of 916 million shares valued at $150.976 billion, accounting for 46.44% of Berkshire Hathaway's total portfolio.

During the shareholders' meeting, Buffett praised Apple and admitted that selling Apple two years ago was a foolish decision.

2. $Bank of America(BAC)$: added 1.033 billion shares

Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in $Bank of America(BAC)$ by 2% to a total of 1.033 billion shares valued at $29.54 billion, accounting for 9.1% of Berkshire Hathaway's total portfolio.

Buffett also mentioned his liking for Bank of America's management during the shareholders' meeting. Apart from Bank of America, other banking stocks are not among Berkshire Hathaway's top holdings.

3. $Occidental(OXY)$: added 17.355 million shares

In the first quarter, Berkshire Hathaway increased its position in $Occidental(OXY)$ by 17.355 million shares, with a total value of $13.22 billion.

Buffett believes that Occidental Petroleum has excellent geographic positioning and many high-quality oil wells but stated that Berkshire Hathaway will not acquire the company.

Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in $HP Inc(HPQ)$ by 15%, adding 16.477 million shares. $HP Inc(HPQ)$ ranks tenth in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway also increased its position in $Paramount Global(PARA)$ , $Citigroup(C)$ , and insurance company $Markel(MKL)$ .

Buffett sold these stocks…

Four holdings were completely liquidated in the first quarter, including luxury furniture retailer $Restoration Hardware(RH)$ , two regional banks $U.S. Bancorp(USB)$ and $Bank of New York Mellon(BK)$ , and $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ , which had previously been significantly reduced.

During the shareholders' meeting, Buffett mentioned that Berkshire Hathaway may no longer invest in automakers like $General Motors(GM)$ or $Ford(F)$ and instead lean towards dealership businesses. In the first quarter, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in General Motors (GM) by 20%.

Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in $Activision Blizzard(ATVI)$ by 6%. The latest news indicates that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft has received approval from the European Union, but the UK remains opposed. Microsoft still faces challenges in this endeavor.

In addition, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in $Chevron(CVX)$ by 18% and pharmaceutical distributor $McKesson(MCK)$ by 19% in the first quarter.

New holdings

Three new positions were established: $Capital One(COF)$ , a credit card and banking company, with 9.922 million shares valued at $954 million;

$Diageo PLC(DEO)$ , a well-known UK distillery, with 228,000 shares valued at $41.264 million;

and $Vitesse Energy(VTS)$ , a US energy investment company, with 51,000 shares valued at $971,000.