24/7 Wall St. has decided to pull out the “cheapest” stocks from the latest Buffett stock holdings to see where the best opportunities are for long-term investors today. Buffett is of course a value investor who seeks growth at a reasonable price, and he generally prefers companies that pay a dividend, even though Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) itself does not do so.

Our screens focused primarily on stocks that had the most upside to the Thomson Reuters consensus price targets from Wall Street. We also looked at other valuation metrics outside of this year’s expected earnings multiples and added in color on each if applicable. Due to currency fluctuations and international analysis changing up the mix, we have chosen to avoid covering the foreign companies listed as American depository receipts (ADRs).

What is amazing is the many companies in the full Buffett portfolio that are trading close to or even above what the analyst community might refer to as fair value. Investors just need to remember that Warren Buffett himself will not care at all what Wall Street values something at for a year out. He would simply remind investors that he is willing to pay up for solid quality companies that he knows are going to be present and remain attractive through good times and bad times.

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) trades at close to $86, and the $97.89 consensus price target implies upside of almost 14%. Deere comes with a 2.3% dividend yield. The four million shares in Buffett’s war chest is worth about $344 million, but it will be worth almost $400 million or so if you include the dividends in a year, if Wall Street is right. Be advised that Buffett might agree with the most optimistic analyst target out there of $120 per share, since this machinery giant trades at only about 10 times earnings.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is still a fairly new position, now at 25 million shares, for Team Buffett. Buffett probably thought he would get an index-related bounce, and his stake is worth about $850 million. GM’s stock has risen to more than $34, which still leaves more than 15% upside to the consensus price target of $39.53. Team Buffett likely is hoping that there is still years of auto sales growth ahead, and the forward earnings multiple of 10 times earnings is just a tad cheaper than the dividend-paying Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) at almost 11 times earnings. The highest analyst target out there is substantially higher and actually above $50, although we would caution that GM pays no dividend.

The new Buffett holdings are below.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was almost 19 million shares, which appears to be slightly lower but it had been raised before. What matters here is that it remains a substantial holding still.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (NYSE: CBI) was a NEW POSITION at just over 6.5 million shares worth over $400 million.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was more than 400 million shares due to the stock split of 2012, but this is virtually the SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is the SAME POSITION at 24.1 million shares, but this is lower than in prior quarters.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was the SAME POSITION at 4,333,363 shares.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was a LARGER POSITION and already more than a 10% stake and we recently saw that Berkshire Hathaway had entered into a standstill agreement not to buy more than 25% of the company after already having increased its stake recently. This was listed as 14.97 million shares as of March 31 versus 13.6 million shares before.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was the SAME POSITION at roughly 4 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was HIGHER YET AGAIN at 37.275 million shares versus almost 34 million shares and that was also higher than before.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was the SAME POSITION of 1.74 million shares.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is listed as the SAME POSITION at 588,900 shares, but this is still way down from prior reports.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is the SAME POSITION at 25 million shares, but this was previously up from smaller positions.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is the SAME POSITION at 1.51 million shares.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE: AU) was cut to Sell from an already cautious Neutral rating at Goldman Sachs.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Evercore.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) was cut to Hold from Buy at Cowen.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Wedbush.

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) was cut to Strong Sell from an already cautious Hold rating by S&P Capital IQ late on Thursday.

MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ: MELI) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) was cut to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) was cut to Sell from an already cautious Hold rating at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) was cut to Hold from Buy at Cowen and started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Baird.

Here are today’s top analyst upgrades and positive research calls.

• Berkshire A-shares at 149,240.00, up 11.32%
• DJIA 13,973.39, up 6.63%
• S&P 500 1,521.38, up 6.67%

One thing we noticed when we first looked at the holdings leading his portfolio value higher was that Buffett’s portfolio has many stocks that are still attractive. It also has many old legacy positions that the investment team should sell out of. 24/7 Wall St. screened the dozens of holdings listed to identify the dogs in the portfolio or the positions that are too small to even matter now. This is a list of stocks that Warren Buffett and Team Berkshire should sell now.

These are not ranked in any order at all, other than how they are listed alphabetically on our full list of the Berkshire Hathaway holdings. The implied upside (when noted) is based on the Thomson Reuters consensus price target. Buffett is considered to be a value investor who buys great companies that he thinks he can hold forever. The new portfolio managers are Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, and they do not necessarily hold the same forever timeline. Some of these “stocks to sell now” are from the new managers, while others were picked by Buffett himself and have been on the books for years.

Read Also: Berkshire Hathaway’s Full Stock Portfolio for 2013

The first one that Buffett should sell is none other than General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE). While this is our Top Conglomerate Pick for 2013, the GE stake is just too small to matter at Berkshire Hathaway. The company only owns 588,900 shares, and that was way down from prior quarters. If Buffett does not want to sell then maybe he should add to the position again. Some of this may be left from when it had the huge preferred stake, but a position worth $14 million is just too small for Berkshire Hathaway to mess around with. GE now yields about 3.2% after hitting a new multiyear high.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was a lower position yet again, at only 327,100 shares. This used to be a large holding for Berkshire, with millions and millions of shares. The company has been selling shares as is, but it needs to just clear out of the position. This is worth almost $25 million today, and that is just not worth the effort. One thing that may be keeping Buffett interested is that Johnson & Johnson still yields 3.2%.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) was lowered before, and it was lowered again. What is amazing is that this is down to only 88,863 shares. That is hardly worth mentioning, with a value of almost $130,000. This is a position that Buffett has tried to keep confidential, and it ties into his current local media and newspaper ownership.

Team Buffett owns both MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V). While we can appreciate them wanting to participate on the “credit card toll road” trade, the historic aim of Buffett to make a big bet and to gain influence as a “partner” just does not apply when you own both. To top it off, Berkshire Hathaway owns more than $9 billion worth of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) and has had that position for years and years. The Visa stake is worth more than $240 million today, and the MasterCard stake is worth about $211 million. Both have low dividends of less than 1%, and the implied upside to the consensus analyst targets is 10.3% for MasterCard and 10.8% for Visa. We will leave it up to Buffett’s two new portfolio managers to decide which one is better, but they ought to sell one and make a larger bet on the other. Both have very large market caps, and Berkshire Hathaway can easily do much more than a $200 million position.

Another almost split decision is between Kraft Foods Group Inc. (NASDAQ: KRFT) and Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ). The latter is a position due to the spinoff from the former Kraft Foods, and Buffett already had sold shares of Kraft. With the Kraft stake being worth only worth $79 million, and with Mondelez being worth some $341 million as of now, the decision looks simple. It is time to get out of the old Kraft position. Buffett had been a seller on it anyhow. The only problem is that Kraft still yields more than 4%, against about 1.9% for Mondelez. That being said, Buffett has enough exposure to food now through the H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) preferred deal.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) is another position that we just don’t get. What happened to “avoid companies you do not understand” as part of the Buffett investing strategy? This was listed as 28.4 million shares, worth more than $1.4 billion at the end of 2012. This position was the same as the prior quarter, but it was way down from earlier quarters and years. The most recent government suit against S&P highlights that the ratings agencies still have a lot of risk. Buffett rode this one all the way down and back up during and after the recession, but just recently Bloomberg pointed out that Buffett might have lost close to $300 million in value on this of late. Moody’s remains a position that we consider as being a “legacy position.” We would bet serious money that neither Todd Combs nor Ted Weschler would commit new capital to this position if this was being evaluated as a new “buy, sell or hold” without knowledge that Buffett has stayed in this for years and years. The 1.7% dividend yield is also not enough to entice the team to stay in Moody’s.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is another one we just don’t get. Team Buffett kept the same stake of only 59,400 shares, worth less than $5 million at the end of 2012. They already had trimmed this from a 2012 peak of almost 1.43 million shares, and this hardly seems worth the Berkshire Hathaway effort. We really do not see anything wrong with the position as it hit a new 52-week high on Friday, and the analysts still have an implied upside of about 6.5% on UPS. The 2.8% dividend is also attractive. Our take is that Todd Combs or Ted Weschler simply forgot to sell out of the rest of this position.

Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a position taken on by the new managers in the portfolio. The team already lightened up even starting a year ago. The company made good gains here on a percentage basis, but it seems that the easy money has been made here, since shares have doubled from the late-2009 initial public offering. The market capitalization is up over $9 billion now, and at some point this company is going to have to find serious new markets with entirely different analytical products to drive value. The consensus analyst target only implies only 1.4% upside to the $55.55 target, but the peak analyst target implies closer to 15% upside ($63 is high target, versus $54.75 today). At almost 30 times trailing earnings and at almost 24 times forward earnings, this analytics outfit is going to have to get its growth from monitoring health care fraud to drive future growth. Verisk also pays no dividend now. Even if upside to the $9 billion market cap can be gained, it sure looks like the easy money trade has been made here.

The Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) stake of about 1.72 million shares is currently worth about $710 million. This is a long-standing Buffett position and may be strategic, considering the media and papers that Buffett has gotten Berkshire Hathaway into. The problem here is that we are about as certain as we can be Todd Combs and Ted Weschler would both give the thumbs-down verdict on this position if they were evaluating it as a fresh “buy, sell, or hold” position with new money, if they did not know the Buffett history here. Buffett already left the board of directors here, and he promised to hold on to Washington Post shares for the long haul. That is fine, but Buffett’s successors are very likely to try to figure out how to get out of this position. The 2.4% dividend yield will not be enough to sway them. As a caveat, we cannot help but notice that Washington Post shares just hit their highest level since mid-2011. We also cannot help but notice that this is worth only about 40% of its peak value before 2005.

Portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are getting even more entrenched as far as their ability to add to positions. The new Buffett holdings are below.   American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was listed as a NEW POSITION of 5.95 million shares worth some $163.1 million as of the end of 2012.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) appears to be the SAME SIZE at over 19.6 million shares, but that is after gains had been reported in prior quarters.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was more than 400 million shares due to the stock split of 2012, but this is virtually the SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is the SAME AS BEFORE at 24.1 million shares, but this is lower than in prior quarters.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was 4,333,363 shares, SAME AS last quarter.

READ ALSO: GE is the Best Conglomerate for Investors in 2013

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was already more than a 10% stake, but a new filing shows that Buffett and various entities own a collective 13.6 million shares for a 13.0% stake. This position has grown and grown and is a LARGER STAKE. This stock has risen and risen while Buffett kept adding the position.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was the SAME AS LAST QUARTER at roughly 4 million shares, but this was previously a new position.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION AGAIN at almost 34 million shares versus 29.555 million shares before that and it had grown another quarter before as well.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was 1.74 million, SAME AS BEFORE but decreased in prior quarters.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) is the SAME AS BEFORE at 3.877 million shares.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is listed as THE SAME 588,900 shares, but this is still way down from the 5.008 million shares and 7.777 million shares the two prior quarter.

We have looked at the year-to-date performance of Warren Buffett’s portfolio holdings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) to see which stocks he has that are helping to drive gains so far in 2013. We looked through all of Warren Buffett’s top stock holdings to identify the biggest winners. What is so interesting today is that the actual Berkshire Hathaway shares are outperforming about 90% of the actual stock holdings that make up the Buffett and Berkshire investment portfolio.

We have included the purchase or sale transaction history of each pick. We have also provided color and the implied upside to the Thomson Reuters consensus (mean) price target objective.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) remains a relatively new holding for team Buffett but was kept steady last quarter at 27.1 million shares worth more than $1.65 billion. It is also Buffett’s top stock in 2013 so far with gains of more than 15%. We expect that the way Mr. Buffett talked so positively about this oil refinery that he may add to the position ahead. We expect upside to the 1.6% dividend yield and this trades with more implied upside as the $61.30 price is short of the consensus analyst price target of $66.38.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has been on fire in 2013 and shares have been hitting new 52-week highs and this DJIA consumer products giant is up about 13.5% so far in 2013. What is interesting is that Mr. Buffett had been lowering his stake and it had fallen by nearly half of its share amount down to 52.8 million shares. That number may be even lower ahead as Buffett tends to keep selling stocks he starts selling out of. If the position is somehow static, that position would be worth more than $4 billion. This hit a 52-week high on Tuesday above $76.50 and the consensus analyst price target is $78.75 with a 3% dividend yield as of now.

We have two runner-ups which we are not formally counting as Buffett’s best performing stocks even though they have been in the holdings before. United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) is technically the third best position in the Team Buffett portfolio, but there is just one small problem. This had been almost entirely eliminated down to 59,400 shares from 261,900 shares last quarter and versus 1.429 million shares two quarters ago. That being said, this 9% gain year to date is almost immaterial for Berkshire’s $242 billion market cap. Ingersoll-Rand PLC (NYSE: IR) is yet another one which would have been great had Buffett remained on its side, but he has sold out of that position in late 2012 as well. That is too bad as this was up 8% year to date in 2013.

Read Also: Many DJIA Dividend Hikes Expected Soon

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) is actually a new position for Berkshire Hathaway of about 4 million shares worth about $375 million or so today. As Deere & Co. has a market cap of over $36 billion, Buffett could certainly add exponentially to his stake here without rocking the wagon too much. Deere is up by about 8.5% so far in 2013 and the price of $93.75 still has upside if the $96.00 consensus analyst price target turns out to be accurate.

Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was a new position, but after growing that Berkshire Hathaway’s new portfolio managers already trimmed that stake down. As of the last quarterly report Verisk was down to only 1.563 million shares worth close to $80 million. This was next on the list of Buffett’s top stock performers in 2013 with gains of about 7.5% year to date. With shares around $55 now, this is now right at the consensus price target of $55.55 for this risk and analysis provider to the insurance industry.

Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) is the last of the reviewed gainers for the best performing stocks out of Buffett’s 2013 holdings. This insurance stock holding was the same as the prior quarter at a stake of about 4.2 million after having been raised in prior quarters. This was up about 7% year to date and is worth more than $220 million. With shares around $55 now, the consensus analyst target price is almost $58.73.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) was yet another top percentage gainer but it also is one which Warren Buffett and team have already reduced down to only 1.13 million shares from 3,225,822 shares shown initially. This holding was one that Buffett had asked for confidentiality treatment on in his newspaper endeavors. The gain here is 8.8% year to date, but the position is so small on dollar terms at $1.24 per share that it is not even worth noting as it pertains to the Buffett portfolio dollars. That being said, this is another gainer that is less of a stake for Berkshire Hathaway.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) has been raised by Mr. Buffett as a larger position and this was listed as over 67.5 million shares at the last available date. That was up slightly from 66.63 million shares from the previous quarter and versus the prior quarter before that at 64.395 million shares. It is likely that Buffett has been writing put options to grow its stake. This IT-giant is up 6.4% so far in 2013 for Mr. Buffett and his stake here is worth more than a whopping $13.7 billion to Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire is now the largest shareholder of IBM and the $203 share price still has much implied upside to the consensus analyst target price of $225.76.

It is rare that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) outperforms the stock market. While it is a conglomerate and has many aspects of a holding company, there is also a lot of characteristics here that make investors think they have some bond market safety as well.

Buffett’s newest round of stock holdings should be out in mid-February and his most recent holdings can be seen in full here. We tracked the changes each quarter on each position.

After having reviewed and compiled the Berkshire Hathaway winners and losers, there is one thing that surfaced as an obvious lesson: just because Warren Buffett sells out of a stock it does not automatically mean that you should turn your back on those companies.

Portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are getting more and more entrenched as far as their ability to add to positions. It should also be mentioned that Warren Buffett was out for much of the summer for his prostate cancer treatment. While the net dollar amounts were not much different, the number of changes here were very significant.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was over 19.6 million shares, another gain versus the more than 18.7 million shares last quarter (and versus 5.6 million shares previously, and the 1,793,915 shares even before then).

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was more than 400 million shares, which is about double the number of shares before but that is because of the stock split. Treat this as the SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is lower yet again and this was about 24.1 million shares versus almost 28.9 million shares last quarter, and lower than the 29.1 million shares two quarters ago. See below at the Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) stake.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was 4,333,363 shares, SAME AS last quarter.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now more than a 10% stake and has grown from 9.3 million shares as of June 30, 2012 and higher than the 6 million reported as of March. Furthermore, the stake listed as of 9/30 is irrelevant. Recent filings have shown that Berkshire keeps buying more and more shares on the open market. A filing on 11/13/2012 showed that over the prior few days that some 548,823 shares had been purchased at an average of $112.15 and that the indirect ownership by Berkshire Hathaway was 11,748.045 shares.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was listed as NEW POSITION of about 4 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION again at 29.555 million shares versus 28.4 million shares last time and 22.999 million two quarters ago.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was 1.74 million, SAME AS BEFORE but decreased in prior quarters.

General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD) is the SAME AS BEFORE at 3.877 million shares after being a new position before.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is a MUCH LOWER STAKE at 588,900 shares versus 5.008 million shares last quarter and versus 7.777 million shares the quarter before.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is a LARGER STAKE at 15 million shares versus 10 million shares last quarter.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, SAME AS PRIOR QUARTERS.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was A LARGER POSITION at over 67.5 million shares, up slightly from 66.63 million shares last quarter and the prior quarter at 64.395 million shares.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was a MUCH LOWER POSITION again at just under 500,000 shares. This is down from 10.33 million shares last quarter and versus about 29 million shares the prior quarter. The peak was way up at 62 million shares.

Kraft Foods (NASDAQ: KRFT) was AGAIN A LOWER POSITION at 40.46 million shares, down from 58.8 million shares last quarter and versus 78 million shares before that.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) was an ALREADY REDUCED down to 1.13 million shares from 3,225,822 shares shown initially. This was one that Buffett had asked for confidentiality treatment on in his newspaper endeavors.

Liberty Media Corp. (NASDAQ: LMCA) is a the same at 5.5 million shares versus, but that was lifted last quarter from the prior two quarters.

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) is 5.38+ million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was 405,000 shares, the SAME AS last quarter but up from two quarters before that.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was 28.4 million; SAME AS last quarter but way down from prior quarters and years.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was a LARGER position at 4.18 million shares versus what had been a new position of 2.84 million shares last quarter.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) was the SAME AS LAST QUARTER at about 27.1 million shares, but this was a new position last quarter even though it had been telegraphed.

Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP) was listed as a NEW STAKE of almost 1.25 million shares.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was 52.8 million shares, LOWER THAN BEFORE and a steady shrinking position in recent quarters from a peak of 96.3 million shares.

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was 4.06 million shares; SAME AS before.

Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) was more than 4.2 million, SAME AS last quarter after having been raised in a prior quarter.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was DOWN AGAIN to 61.2+ million shares from 66 million shares last quarter and about 69 million shares in the prior quarters.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was 17.072 million shares; SAME AS before.

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was ALMOST ELIMINATED ENTIRELY down to 59,400 shares from 261,900 shares last quarter and versus 1.429 million shares two quarters ago.

Verisk Analytics Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) was LOWERED YET AGAIN to 1.563 million shares.

Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA) was a LARGER POSITION AGAIN at 7.6+ million shares versus 6.8 million shares last quarter and having been a new position of 1.59 million shares two quarters earlier.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was 1.555 million shares, a LOWER POSITION YET AGAIN versus 2.079 million shares last quarter and versus 2.865 million shares previously.

WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE: WBC) is a NEW POSITION of about 1.6 million shares but that is less than $100 million.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was THE SAME STAKE at just over 46.7 million shares.

Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) was over 1.72 million shares; SAME AS before.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was HIGHER YET AGAIN at over 420 million shares more than 394.3 million shares last quarter. Buffett keeps growing this stake and he telegraphed that he had.

CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) had been smaller before and it has now been eliminated entirely from prior holdings of just over 5.3 million shares and then 7.106 million shares two quarters ago.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) was ELIMINATED ENTIRELY from 3.32 million shares last quarter and versus 4.497 million shares before that.

Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) has now been entirely eliminated as we expected. Berkshire was down to on 20,400 shares last quarter versus 636,600 shares in the first quarter.   We would note that the total value of today’s public equity holdings was listed as over $75.3 billion, which is up from $74.32 billion last quarter and virtually the same as the $75.3 billion the prior quarter.

JON C. OGG

Portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still relatively new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.   We have referenced these new holdings to prior quarters as well.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is HIGHER AGAIN at more than 18.7 million shares versus 5.6 million shares last quarter and higher than the 1,793,915 shares two quarters ago.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is now a SMALLER POSITION at just over 5.3 million shares versus 7.106 million shares last quarter.  What is interesting is that this position is not an old one and is rather new.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE yet again.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a tad lower at almost 28.9 million shares, and that is lower than the roughly 29.1 million shares previously reported.  See below at the Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) stake.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 9.3 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 6 million reported last quarter.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION again at 28.4 million shares or so, up from 22.999 million last quarter and versus 20.348 million shares a quarter before that.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is 3.32 million shares, LOWER THAN the 3.63 million shares last quarter and lower than the 4.497 million shares before that.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was 1.74 million, SAME AS BEFORE but decreased in prior quarters.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is the SAME AS BEFORE at 3.877 million shares after being a new position before.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is a LOWER STAKE at 5.008 million shares versus 7.777 million shares the quarter before.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) is THE SAME at 10 million shares after having been a new stake last quarter.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, SAME AS PRIOR QUARTERS.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) was A LARGER POSITION at 66.63 million shares versus 64.395 million shares the quarter before.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was a MUCH LOWER POSITION of 10.33 million shares versus about 29 million shares the prior quarter. The peak was way up at 62 million shares or so at one point in prior quarters.

Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) was AGAIN A LOWER POSITION at about 58.8 million shares versus 78 million shares before and it had been lightened up prior to that as well.

Lee Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: LEE) was a NEW POSITION of 3,225,822 shares, but this was one that Buffett had asked for confidentiality treatment on in his newspaper endeavors.  This should have been known for the most part.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) is a LARGER POSITION YET AGAIN at 5.5 million shares versus 3 million shares last quarter and versus 1.7 million shares the quarter before that.

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is 5.38+ million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) was 405,000 shares, the SAME AS last quarter but up from two quarters before that.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) was 28.4 million; SAME AS last quarter but way down from prior quarters and years.

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE: NOV) was a NEW POSITION  of 2.84 million shares worth under $200 million at the end of the quarter.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) was a NEW POSITION of about 27.1 million shares, but we would advise that this had been telegraphed last month and should not be considered new even if it is fairly large stake after the spin-off.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was 59.6 million shares, a LOWER POSITION AGAIN versus 73.2+ million last quarter and versus 76.7 million shares a quarter before.  This is down from a peak of 96.3 million shares in prior quarters.

Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) was 4.06 million shares; SAME AS before.

Torchmark Corp. (NYSE: TMK) was more than 4.2 million, SAME AS last quarter after having been raised in a prior quarter.

US Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was DOWN SLIGHTLY to 66 million shares versus about 69 million shares in the prior quarters.

USG Corp. (NYSE: USG) was 17.072 million shares; SAME AS before.

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was a LOWERED POSITION to 261,900 shares versus 1.429 million shares last quarter.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSK) 1.871 million shares, LOWER AGAIN versus 2.23 million shares last quarter and lower than the 3.445 million shares one quarter earlier.

Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA) was a LARGER POSITION at 6.8 million shares after having been a new position of 1.59 million shares one quarter earlier.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was a LOWER POSITION at 2.079 million shares versus 2.865 million shares previously.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was THE SAME STAKE at just over 46.7 million shares, but that was grown in the last quarter.

Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) was over 1.72 million shares; SAME AS before.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was GROWN YET AGAIN to more than 394.3 million versus more than 383 million shares last quarter. Buffett keeps buying Wells Fargo shares.

Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED after having been roughly 1.5 million shares in prior quarters.

Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) was ALMOST ELIMINATED ENTIRELY down to on 20,400 shares versus 636,600 shares last quarter.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was no longer listed as a position after having been 7.745 million shares last quarter and versus 11.495 million shares the quarter before that.

We would note that the total value of today’s public equity holdings was listed as over $74.32 billion versus about $75.3 billion the prior quarter.  This report is also missing the phrase “Confidential information has been omitted…” in this filing.

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Also, keep in mind that portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.

24/7 Wall St. has gone through line by line of each position to see which stocks have been bought and sold as new positions, as well as having added in whether or not the number of shares grew or shrank on each since the prior quarter. We had added some color in on some of the positions if applicable.

Be advised that the number of subsidiaries that this filing covers is 14 entities rather than 18 entities in the prior quarter. There is also a note in the 13F filing showing that the SEC has granted “Confidential Treatment” on some Berkshire stock holdings and that likely suggests that Buffett is still acquiring a position he does not want the public to know about yet. This filing does not signal the half-dozen or more European shares that Buffett said he bought so that remains an outstanding issue as well.

The value of the stock portfolio was $66,151,587,000 at the end of 2011 and this was listed as $75,300,250,000 at the end of March 2012.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was over 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is now 5.6 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 1,793,915 shares last quarter.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is the SAME SIZE at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter and having been raised one quarter ago.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters in past reports.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 6 million shares worth $541 million and that LARGER THAN BEFORE after having been a new position of 2.684 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed at 22.999 million worth over $1.13 billion. This one had been 20.348 million shares worth $870 million one quarter earlier and it had been a new position just two quarters ago at 4.249 million shares.

Some investors may worry that, if Buffett were to leave, the portfolio would perhaps find a large rotation out of current positions. While anything is possible, we expect almost no change whatsoever to the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio based on the cancer news. Some new stocks may still get added with two new portfolio managers inside the conglomerate. Some stocks also may get paired down further. That being said, Buffett has treated these holdings in many cases as though they are “partner companies” rather than mere stock investments that are to be bought and sold solely based on the price gain or loss at a certain time.

Buffett’s top 10 performers so far this year are significantly outperforming the broader market indexes. The DJIA is currently up about 8.1% so far in 2012, and the S&P 500 Index is outperforming the DJIA with a gain of 11.3%, due to such a high weighting and strong performance of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) is only up by 5.7% so far in 2012, and that is before the effect of Buffett’s cancer news. Only one of Berkshire Hathaway’s 30-plus common stocks is down so far in 2012, and that is Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), with a loss of only 1.2%.

Read Also: Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Full Investment Holdings

What was most interesting about the holdings noted as 2012’s 10 best performers is that the dividends are often paltry. Most have dividend yields that are well below average. We have given some color on each position, shown some trends on each, and shown the price and relative price performance on each. It is no coincidence that the financial stocks in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio are up so much when you consider that the financial sector led the market in the first quarter and so far this year.

USG Corporation (NYSE: USG) is Warren Buffett’s single best stock performer so far in 2012, as Americans continue to look for ways to play a coming housing recovery. The latest NAHB confidence dip may be a concern, but perhaps a remodel housing economy can be enough to return a turnaround here. What is interesting is that Thomson Reuters is currently looking for a loss of $1.30 per share in 2012 and a loss of $0.52 in 2013, despite what it expects to be rising sales. Unlike most of Buffett’s top stocks, USG pays no common dividend. The $16.89 share price compares too a 52-week trading range of $5.75 to $19.44.

Ingersoll-Rand Plc (NYSE: IR) turned out to be Buffett’s second-best common stock in 2012, with a gain of 32%. The company makes tools, compressed air systems, ARO fluid products and lifting and material handling products, among other products and services. The dividend yield here is roughly 1.6%. At $40.06, its 52-week trading range is $25.86 to $52.33.

Filed under: Banking & Finance Tagged: AAPL, AXP, BAC, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, INTC, IR, JNJ, MA, MCO, USG, V, VRSK, WFC ]]> http://247wallst.com/2012/04/18/what-happens-to-warren-buffetts-top-10-performing-stocks-of-2012-brk-b-brk-a-usg-ir-mco-axp-wfc-v-bk-vrsk-intc-ma-aapl-jnj-bac/feed/ 0 AAPLAXPBACBKBRK-ABRK-BINTCIRJNJMAMCOUSGVVRSKWFC Administrator Warren Buffett