Buffett’s investing ideals are by no means original. He is the prodigy student of Ben Graham, the father of value investing, but Buffett's educational influences did not stop there. He combined what Graham taught with the investment principles of Philip Fisher. Fisher focused on what a company did and how it made money, stressing the qualitative fundamental characteristics of companies. By combining the teachings of both Graham and Fisher, Buffett, through his Berkshire investing vehicle, has been able to post unfathomable annual returns.
In adhering to the principles of value investing, Buffett is the personification of patience and discipline, two characteristics often in short supply in money managers. His buy-and-hold strategy had proven extremely profitable over the last 40 years. Berkshire’s so-called “bread and butter” is the insurance business, and amongst other insurance companies, Berkshire wholly owns the GEICO Corporation. The reveune from this stream of business was over $1.5 billion in 2004. But do not let this mislead you; Buffet shows little hesitation to invest in other sectors of the economy, as long as he feels he is getting a good deal. View Buffett's holdings now - click here.
Some of the most important factors value investors analyze are such things as ROE, debt-to-equity and price-to-book ratios, all in an effort to determine a company’s intrinsic value. If Buffett deems a company’s intrinsic value to be higher than its current price, and its management and business operations to be sustainable, he will almost certainly invest. However, based on his staple of only about 30 stocks, it is fairly apparent that very few companies pass the Warren E. Buffett invest-ability test.
Although we can talk all about Buffett’s accolades over the past 40 years, the numbers speak for themselves. Suffice to say that keeping an eye on the holdings of Warren Buffett is a good idea. If you are not watching the best investor in the world, who are you watching?
Berkshire Hathaway | Average Annual Return | 3-Year | 5-Year |
Common Stock (BRK.a/b) | 21.9% | 8.48% | 9.48% |
S&P 500(Benchmark) | 10.4% | 17.17% | 0.64% |
Company Name: | Berkshire Hathaway |
Portfolio Manager: | Warren Buffett |
Focus: | Value |
Updates: | Shares Held, Change in Shares, and Position Change as of 9/30/08 - all other information 15 minutes delayed |
Ticker | Company | Share Value x1000 | Change in Value x1000 | Current Value x1000 | Shares Held | Change in Shares | % of Portfolio | Position Change |
COP | ConocoPhillips | $5,710,262 | $5,710,262 | $4,438,024 | 77,955,800 | 77,955,800 | 8.17% | Increase |
PG | Procter & Gamble Co. | $5,592,762 | ($843,794) | $4,816,725 | 80,252,000 | (25,595,000) | 8.00% | Decrease |
KFT | Kraft Foods Inc. | $3,930,416 | ($3,436) | $3,643,586 | 120,012,700 | (18,259,800) | 5.62% | Decrease |
WFC | Wells Fargo & Co. Del | $2,481,957 | ($4,421,097) | $1,835,180 | 66,132,620 | (224,522,248) | 3.55% | Decrease |
WSC | Wesco Finl Corp. | $2,036,002 | ($145,429) | $1,919,089 | 5,703,087 | 0 | 2.91% | No Change |
USB | US Bancorp | $1,781,615 | ($132,505) | $1,148,504 | 49,461,826 | (19,169,200) | 2.55% | Decrease |
JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | $1,703,512 | ($2,269,769) | $1,474,345 | 24,588,800 | (37,165,648) | 2.44% | Decrease |
MCO | Moody's | $1,632,000 | ($21,120) | $1,129,440 | 48,000,000 | 0 | 2.34% | No Change |
WMT | Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. | $1,194,464 | $73,595 | $1,032,915 | 19,944,300 | 0 | 1.71% | No Change |
BUD | Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. | $898,264 | $38,213 | $727,693 | 13,845,000 | 0 | 1.29% | No Change |
AXP | American Express Co. | $893,546 | ($4,817,626) | $1,097,072 | 25,220,034 | (126,390,666) | 1.28% | Decrease |
UNP | Union Pacific Corp. | $633,751 | ($38,652) | $686,118 | 8,906,000 | 0 | 0.91% | No Change |
MTB | M & T Bank Corporation | $584,530 | $110,850 | $569,008 | 6,549,360 | (165,700) | 0.84% | Decrease |
WPO | Washington Post Co. | $580,487 | ($433,538) | $393,650 | 1,042,615 | (685,150) | 0.83% | Decrease |
NKE | Nike Inc. | $511,183 | $55,703 | $565,128 | 7,641,000 | 0 | 0.73% | No Change |
USG | USG Corporation | $437,048 | ($67,777) | $205,037 | 17,072,192 | 0 | 0.63% | No Change |
COST | Costco Wholesale Corp. | $341,142 | ($27,374) | $297,061 | 5,254,000 | 0 | 0.49% | No Change |
KMX | Carmax Inc. | $258,217 | ($44,030) | $383,637 | 18,444,100 | (2,855,900) | 0.37% | Decrease |
CMCSK | Comcast Corp | $236,640 | $11,520 | $210,720 | 12,000,000 | 0 | 0.34% | No Change |
GE | General Electric Co. | $198,336 | ($9,256) | $127,947 | 7,777,900 | 0 | 0.28% | No Change |
IR | Ingersoll-Rd Company LTD. | $175,674 | ($35,281) | $211,880 | 5,636,600 | 0 | 0.25% | No Change |
BAC | Bank of America Corp. | $175,000 | ($42,217) | $69,800 | 5,000,000 | (4,100,000) | 0.25% | Decrease |
ETN | Eaton Corporation | $163,411 | $0 | $230,224 | 2,908,700 | 0 | 0.23% | No Change |
UNH | United Health Group Inc. | $161,986 | ($6,014) | $213,408 | 6,379,900 | (20,100) | 0.23% | Decrease |
LOW | Lowes Companies Inc. | $153,985 | $8,735 | $131,820 | 6,500,000 | (500,000) | 0.22% | Decrease |
STI | Sun Trusts Banks Inc. | $144,175 | $28,105 | $82,839 | 3,204,600 | 0 | 0.21% | No Change |
NSC | Norfolk Southern Corp. | $127,984 | $6,843 | $110,297 | 1,933,000 | 0 | 0.18% | No Change |
NRG | NRG Energy, Inc. | $123,750 | $0 | $114,950 | 5,000,000 | 0 | 0.18% | No Change |
KO | Coca Cola | $115,067 | ($10,280,933) | $123,488 | 2,176,000 | (197,824,000) | 0.16% | Decrease |
SNY | Sanofi Aventis | $111,253 | ($18,474) | $102,791 | 3,384,633 | (519,300) | 0.16% | Decrease |
WBC | Wabco Holdings Inc. | $95,958 | $0 | $104,868 | 2,700,000 | 0 | 0.14% | No Change |
HD | Home Depot Inc. | $95,793 | ($2,126) | $106,116 | 3,700,000 | (481,000) | 0.14% | Decrease |
UPS | United Parcel Service Inc. | $89,882 | $2,029 | $95,328 | 1,429,200 | 0 | 0.13% | No Change |
IRM | Iron Mountain Inc. | $82,315 | ($7,217) | $78,336 | 3,372,200 | 0 | 0.12% | No Change |
GSK | GlaxoSmithKline | $65,646 | ($1,148) | $55,163 | 1,510,500 | 0 | 0.09% | No Change |
GCI | Gannett Inc. | $58,299 | ($16,410) | $45,336 | 3,447,600 | 0 | 0.08% | No Change |
TMK | Torchmark Corp. | $31,532 | ($134,088) | $28,083 | 527,279 | (2,296,600) | 0.05% | Decrease |
CDCO | Comdisco Holding Co. | $14,466 | ($220) | $13,082 | 1,521,162 | (16,704) | 0.02% | Decrease |
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