Berkshire Hathaway of Warren Buffett announced two major new investments on Tuesday, revealing a $ 8.6 billion stake in Verizon Communications and a $ 4.1 billion stake in oil company Chevron.
The investments were disclosed in a regulatory file detailing US-listed shares in Berkshire on 31 December.
Berkshire also unveiled a new $ 499 million stake in professional services company Marsh & McLennan.
To make room, Berkshire has cut its investment in several companies, including Apple, although the iPhone maker remains by far the largest shareholder, with about $ 121 billion.
Verizon shares rose 3 percent, Chevron rose 2.2 percent, and Marsh remained unchanged in trading hours after the Berkshire deposit.
Tuesday’s reports that Buffett and his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler see value, although Buffett normally manages larger investments.
It also shows that Berkshire is finding ways to carry out its cash flow, which totaled $ 145.7 billion by September 30.
The Omaha conglomerate, Nebraska, owns more than 90 companies, including Geico car insurance, BNSF rail and Dairy Queen ice cream, but it’s been five years since its last major takeover, a $ 32.1 billion acquisition of Precision Castparts .
Berkshire had begun investing in Verizon, Chevron and Marsh by the third quarter of last year and had obtained permission from the Securities Commission to delay the disclosure of the stake.
The SEC has repeatedly allowed Berkshire to quietly invest in companies over the years to prevent investors from backing their Buffett bets and raising corporate stock prices before Berkshire completes the purchase.
Tuesday’s filing showed Berkshire, a major investor in Bank of America, downgrading smaller banking rivals, reducing its stake in Wells Fargo and eliminating 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 selling a small stake in vaccine maker COVID-19 Pfizer Inc. He also shed the Barrick Gold Corp. mining company.
Doug Kass, executive partner of Seabreeze Capital Investment in Palm Beach, Florida, said the Verizon package “makes sense” for Berkshire, reflecting the telephone company’s dividend payments and the prospect of growing wireless revenues.
The bank’s low stakes may reflect Buffett’s concern about persistently low interest rates and coronavirus-related loan losses, Kass added.
Berkshire is expected to provide more details on its investments when it publishes its year-end results and Buffett’s annual shareholder letter on 27 February.