Saturday 7 August 2010

The numbers speak for themselves: Keeping an eye on the holdings of Warren Buffett is a good idea.

Although the name Berkshire Hathaway is not synonymous with its chairman and CEO, Warren E. Buffett--the greatest investor of all time--it definitely should be. Despite Berkshire’s origins in the textile industry it was not until 1964, when Buffett stepped into the driver’s seat of this holding company, that Berkshire really started to post astonishing gains year in and year out.

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



TickerCompanyShare Value x1000Change in Value x1000Current Value x1000Shares HeldChange in Shares% of PortfolioPosition Change
COPConocoPhillips$5,710,262$5,710,262$4,438,02477,955,80077,955,8008.17%Increase
PGProcter & Gamble Co.$5,592,762($843,794)$4,816,72580,252,000(25,595,000)8.00%Decrease
KFTKraft Foods Inc.$3,930,416($3,436)$3,643,586120,012,700(18,259,800)5.62%Decrease
WFCWells Fargo & Co. Del$2,481,957($4,421,097)$1,835,18066,132,620(224,522,248)3.55%Decrease
WSCWesco Finl Corp.$2,036,002($145,429)$1,919,0895,703,08702.91%No Change
USBUS Bancorp$1,781,615($132,505)$1,148,50449,461,826(19,169,200)2.55%Decrease
JNJJohnson & Johnson$1,703,512($2,269,769)$1,474,34524,588,800(37,165,648)2.44%Decrease
MCOMoody's$1,632,000($21,120)$1,129,44048,000,00002.34%No Change
WMTWal-Mart Stores, Inc.$1,194,464$73,595$1,032,91519,944,30001.71%No Change
BUDAnheuser Busch Cos. Inc.$898,264$38,213$727,69313,845,00001.29%No Change
AXPAmerican Express Co.$893,546($4,817,626)$1,097,07225,220,034(126,390,666)1.28%Decrease
UNPUnion Pacific Corp.$633,751($38,652)$686,1188,906,00000.91%No Change
MTBM & T Bank Corporation$584,530$110,850$569,0086,549,360(165,700)0.84%Decrease
WPOWashington Post Co.$580,487($433,538)$393,6501,042,615(685,150)0.83%Decrease
NKENike Inc.$511,183$55,703$565,1287,641,00000.73%No Change
USGUSG Corporation$437,048($67,777)$205,03717,072,19200.63%No Change
COSTCostco Wholesale Corp.$341,142($27,374)$297,0615,254,00000.49%No Change
KMXCarmax Inc.$258,217($44,030)$383,63718,444,100(2,855,900)0.37%Decrease
CMCSKComcast Corp$236,640$11,520$210,72012,000,00000.34%No Change
GEGeneral Electric Co.$198,336($9,256)$127,9477,777,90000.28%No Change
IRIngersoll-Rd Company LTD.$175,674($35,281)$211,8805,636,60000.25%No Change
BACBank of America Corp.$175,000($42,217)$69,8005,000,000(4,100,000)0.25%Decrease
ETNEaton Corporation$163,411$0$230,2242,908,70000.23%No Change
UNHUnited Health Group Inc.$161,986($6,014)$213,4086,379,900(20,100)0.23%Decrease
LOWLowes Companies Inc.$153,985$8,735$131,8206,500,000(500,000)0.22%Decrease
STISun Trusts Banks Inc.$144,175$28,105$82,8393,204,60000.21%No Change
NSCNorfolk Southern Corp.$127,984$6,843$110,2971,933,00000.18%No Change
NRGNRG Energy, Inc.$123,750$0$114,9505,000,00000.18%No Change
KOCoca Cola$115,067($10,280,933)$123,4882,176,000(197,824,000)0.16%Decrease
SNYSanofi Aventis$111,253($18,474)$102,7913,384,633(519,300)0.16%Decrease
WBCWabco Holdings Inc.$95,958$0$104,8682,700,00000.14%No Change
HDHome Depot Inc.$95,793($2,126)$106,1163,700,000(481,000)0.14%Decrease
UPSUnited Parcel Service Inc.$89,882$2,029$95,3281,429,20000.13%No Change
IRMIron Mountain Inc.$82,315($7,217)$78,3363,372,20000.12%No Change
GSKGlaxoSmithKline$65,646($1,148)$55,1631,510,50000.09%No Change
GCIGannett Inc.$58,299($16,410)$45,3363,447,60000.08%No Change
TMKTorchmark Corp.$31,532($134,088)$28,083527,279(2,296,600)0.05%Decrease
CDCOComdisco Holding Co.$14,466($220)$13,0821,521,162(16,704)0.02%Decrease

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