To keep things even for U.S. investors, we screened out the ADRs held by Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) even though one is mentioned at the end of the screen to keep them on the list. Of the dozens of stocks held by the conglomerate, these are the eight highest dividends in the Buffett portfolio. We have put the stocks in order of the highest yields first and added in color on each if applicable. As you will see, most of the Buffett top dividend yields still offer upside to their consensus price targets for value investors looking for growth.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) leads the list with a common stock dividend yield of 4.2%. The company has pledged to keep its dividend strong, and this puts it higher than other oil giants. This stock is now within about 1% of new 52-week highs and the $62.42 share price compares to an analyst consensus price target of about $63.98.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) has a surprising yield of 3.6% for its common stock holders. This remains a small holding of Warren Buffett but investors might be surprised that the newspaper and media stock has risen to the point that it is up almost 100% from its 52-week low. At $21.62 as of now, the stock trades right at the $21.61 consensus analyst price target, and the 52-week trading range is $12.17 to $22.21.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) offers a 3.3% yield, partly because shares have pulled back since earnings. The earnings report was not stellar by any means, but we think GE shares were sold off too hard after earnings when you consider the state of the bull market. Shares are at $23.24, and GE’s 52-week high is $23.90. Analysts have a consensus target price of $25.33. GE is likely to have a dividend hike yet again later this year.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a top bank and Buffett keeps buying more and more of this stock each and every quarter. The 3.2% common stock yield is rather impressive, and this remains at the top of the seven safest banks in America. This bank is challenging the highs from before the recession again, if you back out the dividend payments. At $39.30, its stock hit that multiyear high on May 15, and analysts have a consensus price target of $40.76.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has lifted its dividend and is yielding 3.1% after a dividend hike in April. Buffett has trimmed the stake here over time, but activist investors have been on management’s back and pressing it to run the company better. If P&G keeps up its efforts, it could be worth even more. The market cap of $221 billion already makes it one of the largest public companies out there. With shares at $80.68, the consensus analyst target price is $82.78.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a personal holding of Warren Buffett rather than Berkshire Hathaway. The bank pays a 3.1% dividend, despite not getting to be as aggressive on its capital plans. Jamie Dimon has been under fire here to split the CEO and chairman roles, but Buffett recently has praised Dimon as a great CEO who also deserves his chairman role. We would caution that one analyst showed that some $20 billion (10% of the share price) could come out of the stock if Dimon leaves the bank because there is a management replacement vacuum right now with no heir apparent. With shares at $51.09, the consensus analyst target is $56.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) recently raised its dividend. The drug and consumer products giant has been a habitual dividend-raising machine, and its product quality controls appear to be over. The 3.1% payout is impressive when you consider that this stock just hit an all-time high on May 15. Note that the consensus analyst price target of $86.50 is actually less than the current price of $87.64.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) ranked as number eight with a dividend yield of 2.8%. This comes as the stock is challenging all-time highs, and the shipping giant has raised its dividend payment consistently. With shares at $88.60, analysts have a consensus price target of $93.09 on the stock.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) is the ADR of the group, and it was only included because it screens out as having such a high yield at 4.3%. That would have put it at the top of the list. As this is an ADR and subject to currency changes altering the payouts each time in dollars for ADR holders, we are only representing the Yahoo! screen for the nominal payout rather than adding color here.

Jon C. Ogg

*The full Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio can be seen here.

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.

Brokerage firm CLSA has a report out from Mike Mayo after it surveyed shareholders of J.P. Morgan Chase showing that large holders would likely sell their shares of the largest bank by assets. It was put as high as a 10% price drop, valued at some $20 billion, if Dimon leaves and those shareholders hit the ejection button.

Mayo talked about a leadership vacuum at Chase and no clear successor. What is interesting is that Mike Mayo has had public anti-Dimon posturing for some time and the firm has an Underperform rating on shares of J.P. Morgan Chase. We would note that men such as Ken Langone and Warren Buffett have been vocal supporters of Jamie Dimon.

Dimon’s controversy has been in the aftermath of the London Whale losses and this is the key reason we have Wells Fargo & Com. (NYSE: WFC) ahead of J.P. Morgan on America’s 7 Safest Large Banks. That being said, 24/7 Wall St. thinks that investors would flock heavily into the next bank stock that Jamie Dimon went to if he left.

Yesterday’s announcement that Fannie Mae would repay $59.4 billion in bailout funds spiked our interest in how the TARP payback is going. Here is what we have found.

The Capital Purchase Program was the largest of the TARP programs, paying out $250.46 billion to 707 financial institutions. The total amount repaid so far comes to $270.81 billion. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) took TARP funds of $45 billion and fully repaid the funds in early 2010. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) paid back TARP loans of $20 billion and $25 billion, respectively, in early 2010 as well. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) repaid $25 billion in the summer of 2009, and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) repaid $10 billion each at the same time.

In addition to these repayments, the Treasury received dividend payments of nearly $12 billion on from the Capital Purchase Program, some $9.4 billion from banks with assets greater than $10 billion.

Smaller banks received $14.57 billion in TARP funds and have repaid $12.13 billion so far, including $1.63 billion in dividends.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) received $67.84 billion in TARP funds and has repaid $55.31 billion to date, include $640 million dividends.

The U.S. auto industry received a total of $79.69 billion. Chrysler Group received $12.37 billion and has repaid $11.13 billion to date, including $1.13 billion in interest. General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) received $51.03 billion and has so far repaid $31.1 billion, including $770 million in interest. Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, received $16.29 billion and has repaid $5.94 billion, including $3.27 billion in dividends. As a group, the automakers and Ally have repaid $48.17 billion of the original bailout funds.

The out-of-pocket cost to taxpayers as of yesterday totaled $42.29 billion, and collections are continuing. That’s not exactly chump change, but in late 2008 no one would have dared predict that TARP would end up costing that little.

See the U.S. Treasury’s daily report.

This is an interesting take because it has yet another call to increase the capitalization of the so-called too big to fail banks. It sound great and 24/7 Wall St. is all in favor of big banks being on solid ground. The ultimate problem is that the big banks are so big that increase their capitalization requirements effectively withdraws too much capital from the economy.  It is without any doubt that you have heard of the calls to break apart the big banks before. You will here those same calls tomorrow and beyond as well.

When you consider that a mere handful of banks have about half of the country’s personal and commercial bank deposits you have a right to be scared. Increasing the capital requirements above the 10% hurdles set by Basel banking standards. Imagine how strong and able these banks would be able to hold up in another recession if their bank capital requirements went from 10% to say 15%.   Now for the bad news if you look at the tally of assets as of the end of 2012. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) was about $2.36 trillion in assets and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) has $2.2 trillion in assets, with Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) behind it at $1.86 trillon and then followed by $1.42 trillion for Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

These four banks alone have $7.84 trillion in assets. The CIA World Factbook tracks just about all global economies and its final estimate for 2012 GDP was put at $15.66 trillion for 2012. Different regulators have many different means of calculating what they think the capitalization are best and keeping up with the flavor of the day or week is for government accountants and regulators. Still, this asset base for just the four biggest banks is right at half (actually 50.06%) of 2012 GDP on the purchasing power parity calculation preferred by economists.

It is very easy to merely say in a vacuum that the too big to fail banks should just increase their capital to hedge against future bailouts. Various regulators have various means of evaluating capitalization metrics and requirements. The unfortunate outcome is that by forcing banks to hold even more capital will tighten credit even further than it has been. With much of the world back in recession, that puts the U.S. back in recession.

Here is what Mr. Plosser said,

“Today, I will highlight why I think current efforts may not be sufficient and discuss a two-pronged approach to ending the problem of too big to fail. The first aspect of this approach is establishing a framework that permits a large financial institution to, in fact, fail without placing the financial system at risk. Large financial firms, and particularly their creditors, should not be rescued or protected by government guarantees or supports or by regulatory discretion. The second line of defense that I will discuss is to expect all financial firms to maintain sufficient levels of capital to significantly reduce the ex-ante risk of failure. Increased capital requirements can lower the incentive for financial institutions to become systemically important and lower the probability that such firms will fail in the first place.”

There is an admission that these “TBTF” banks would become less systemically important. We have no problem with the notion that 20 of the top 50 banks should be allowed to grow and take assets from the top 4. The question is how you can do it without creating a recession. No one seems to have the stomach to actually break apart these businesses. Merely lifting capital reserve requirements comes with a serious price due to the economies of scale here.

Finally, just imagine breaking all of these big banks up as the ultimate step that many people would like to see. This would be very messy and would likely throw the economy back into a self-imposed recession. At first there would be many layoffs and many immediate hits in the economy. That would likely reverse itself and perhaps in as short as one or two quarters of the year. During that period of chaos, businesses would have limited access to capital again just like in 2008 and 2009 at the same time that individuals would not be able to easily get mortgages and loans. The list of problems can just go on and on even though we agree that the big banks are just too big and too economically important.

It is easy for politicians and regulators to propose more strict and tighter standards. As you can see, the actual path to take is harder to walk down than it is to talk about. If you do not believe that there would not be real problems here, ask yourself why the moves have been so slow even after the financial crisis. Even with the anti-money sentiment that much of the public and their elected officials have today, the powers that be must also believe that the price to pay would be too costly.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) plans to upgrade Windows 8 to boost sales. (Reuters)

New York state will file charges against Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) over mortgage instrument abuses. (Reuters)

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) set a partnership for Star Wars games. (Reuters)

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) makes changes to its Atom chip in a bid for more mobile sales. (Reuters)

The Securities and Exchange Commission charges officials of Harrisburg with misrepresenting the city’s financial state. (WSJ)

Bank of America pays MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) $1.7 billion to settle mortgage-related charges. (WSJ)

European Union officials issue a complaint against Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Motorola over its patent violations of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) intellectual property. (WSJ)

The three largest J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) investors fail to support the plan to allow Jamie Dimon to keep both his chief executive and chairman roles. (WSJ)

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sues Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST) over sales of its drinks to underage children. (WSJ)

The European Union will put tariffs on Chinese solar panels. (WSJ)

Some telecom companies adopt mobile OS products that compete with Apple’s iOS and Google Android. (WSJ)

To fight online sales of fake drugs, among other things, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) will sell Viagra online. (NYT)

Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, begins to manufacture its own TVs. (NYT)

Google’s YouTube will allow some providers of content to charge subscription fees. (NYT)

Slow increases in health care costs could be due to the recession and higher co-pay charges. (NYT)

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) will introduce video ads. (FT)

Swiss unemployment reaches a two-year high. (Bloomberg)

The conglomerate is set to report earnings on Friday ahead of the annual meeting, but earnings do not really matter here. Mr. Buffett has said over and over that Berkshire Hathaway could make its earnings magically go up or down based upon purchase or sale transactions. He maintains over and over that the book value per share is what really matters here. As always, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) and Warren Buffett’s latest full stock holdings can be tracked here.

These are the portfolio changes that 24/7 Wall St. believes Mr. Buffett and portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler have made ahead of the annual meeting.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) was a new position at the last report and with Buffett giving more investing money of about $1 billion to Ted Weschler and Todd Coombs lately, our bet is that this position has been added to. ADM was a new position of 5.95 million shares worth some $163.1 million as of the end of 2012.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was already more than a 10% stake and the firm keeps raising its stake. Frankly, we would not be shocked if this company was just acquired outright down the road by Berkshire Hathaway.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) has been added to and we see no reason that the latest stake of almost 34 million shares would not be added to yet again. The satellite TV provider is up 16% year to date, just hit a new high on Friday and is up by close to 4% since the end of the first quarter.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) has been added to before. It is possible that Buffett is adding to the stake here, although he would likely want to buy these at a discount in the government offering of “Government Motors” stock rather than in the open market.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is going to likely keep growing for Berkshire Hathaway as the company keeps buying back stock and recently raised its dividend. Warren Buffett told CNBC, “I won’t be a seller of IBM.” This was over 68 million shares last quarter for a 6.03% stake, and our bet is that Buffett added a bit to it after the stock went on sale after a poor earnings report.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is likely to be void entirely now in the Berkshire Hathaway stock portfolio. This was a mere 327,100 shares last time and has shrunk through time. The stake is so small that it was likely just not exited right before the end of the last quarter.

Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) has been confirmed that the stock holding is shrinking here. Berkshire Hathaway recently sold off about 1.7 million shares of . The position is very profitable for the conglomerate despite the woes of the past for the ratings agency. Buffett’s stake is still over 26 million shares.

Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP) was a larger stake last quarter at roughly 2 million shares versus being a new position of 1.25 million shares in the prior quarter. If the new portfolio managers have new funds, they may have added to this even the stock has been range-bound so far in 2013.

Berkshire Hathaway keeps adding over and over to its position of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and we expect that to have continued in the first quarter. What is perhaps more interesting is that Bloomberg showed a video with Warren Buffett praising J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and CEO Jamie Dimon. Buffett told Bloomberg that he is in full 100% support of Jamie Dimon and his dual role as CEo and Chairman.

In a new report out today, the team at J.P. Morgan has released a diverse list of stocks that investors can buy now despite the strong market rally.

Domtar Corp. (NYSE: UFS) leads off the J.P. Morgan list. This paper products company raised its dividend 22% yesterday. The Thomson/First Call estimate for the stock is $90. Investors are paid a 2.70% dividend. It is trading under $70, and the target price represents an almost 30% gain.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) makes the grade. One of the world’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, Teva recently reaffirmed its 2013 outlook, despite reporting just in-line first-quarter earnings. The consensus for the stock is $43.

CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is a stock to buy now. CA Technologies provides enterprise information technology (IT) management software and solutions in the United States and internationally. The consensus price target for the stock is $26. Investors receive a solid 3.80% dividend.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is on the J.P. Morgan radar. Following the successful completion of a massive debt issuance, Apple is preparing a large capital return to shareholders. The consensus estimate for the stock is $538. Apple pays investors a 2.80% dividend.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL) is one company continuing to garner business from the U.S. military. The communications company was awarded a multimillion dollar contract from the Navy last month. The consensus price objective for the stock is $29. Comtech pays shareholders a very solid 4.60% dividend.

St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE: STJ) is the only medical device maker to make the J.P. Morgan list of stocks to buy. The consensus estimate for the stock is $46. St. Jude pays a 2.40% dividend.

Celadon Group Inc. (NYSE: CGI) offers a range of truckload transportation services, including long-haul, regional, dedicated, less-than-truckload, intermodal and logistics services. The consensus for this stock is $24.

Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU) also made Jim Cramer’s list of top stocks to buy today. The consensus price target is $66. Prudential pays shareholders a 2.70% dividend.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is a big-box retailer that makes the list. Investors applauded this week as the company sold its 50% stake in Best Buy Europe for $775 million, yet this one remains a turnaround story. The consensus price target for the stock is $25. Investors receive a 2.60% dividend.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is the only large money center bank on the J.P. Morgan list. The bank has become one of the leading mortgage providers in the United States, and Warren Buffett is the largest shareholder. The consensus price target for the stock is $41. The bank pays a 3.20% dividend.

The common thread with the stocks to buy from J.P. Morgan is that almost all of them pay a reasonable dividend. We have stressed to readers that investment success is often determined by total return. Purchasing stocks that pay and consistently raise their dividends vastly improves an investor’s chance for success.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) announces CFO departure as it posts strong earnings. (Reuters)

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has better-than-expected earnings, but results from its Motorola division are poor. (Reuters)

Lenovo may buy International Business Machine Corp.’s (NYSE: IBM) server business. (Reuters)

The FAA likely will clear the Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner to resume commercial flights. (WSJ)

The use of natural gas to create electricity reduces the output of carbon dioxide emissions. (WSJ)

Nokia Corp.’s (NYSE: NOK) earnings show that its turnaround has faltered. (WSJ)

Average home prices continue to rise in China, and concern increases about the market overheating. (WSJ)

J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) may work with Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) to increase the retailer’s access to cash. (WSJ)

Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) sets a special committee of its board to evaluate a buyout offer by Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH). (WSJ)

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) will build a Lexus plant in Kentucky. (NYT)

IBM’s CEO says the company is at work to renew growth. (FT)

A new Twitter app allows users to track music. (FT)

Volkswagen’s big recall in China is a warning to car companies that have tried to grow very rapidly there. (Bloomberg)

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 1.06% today, now at 82.613. The GSCI commodity index is up 0.2% at 609.91. WTI crude oil closed down 2.3% today, at $86.68 a barrel after small drop in the EIA’s inventory report (more coverage here). Brent crude trades down 2.1% at $100.39 a barrel. Natural gas is up 1.2% today at about $4.19 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.3% today at $1,382.70 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down nearly 139 points to 14,618.13 (-0.94%), the NASDAQ fell about 60 points (-1.84%) to 3,204.67, and the S&P 500 fell -1.43% or nearly 23 points to 1,552.00.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) reiterated as ‘sell’ at Argus; Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) started as ‘overweight’ with a price target of $85 at Barclays; Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU) started as ‘overweight’ with a price target of $38 at Barclays; Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) cut to ‘neutral’ at Macquarie; and Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) reiterated as ‘outperform’ and price target raised to $59 at Oppenheimer.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) is up XX% at $XX (more railroad coverage here); Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is up XX% at $XX (more coverage here) United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) is up XX% at $XX; Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is up XX% at $XX (more coverage here); Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is up XX% at $XX (more coverage here); and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is up XX% at $XX (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI), AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP), Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. (NYSE: MHR) is down XX% at $XX after posting a new 52-week low of $2.43 earlier today. The struggling oil & gas producer fired its auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, last night after the auditors asked for additional information that might have a material impact on the company’s financial statements.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is down XX% at $XX. The tech giant’s shares fell below $400 for a moment today. More coverage here.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up XX% at $XX. The mobile phone maker reports earnings tomorrow morning, and the struggles at Apple are assumed to be good news for Nokia.

Stay tuned for Thursday. Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin are giving speeches. We have also noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – New claims for unemployment benefits
• 10:00 a.m. – Philadelphia Fed survey
• 10:00 a.m. – Leading indicators
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 5-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) auction
• 4:30 p.m. – Fed balance sheet and money supply