On Wednesday, we took a look at five of the 13 stocks in which Warren Buffett lightened or sold entirely Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (NYSE: BRK-B) stake in the first quarter of this year. Here we look at the other eight stocks in which Buffett reduced his holding and how those stocks have performed to date in the second quarter.
Buffett exited Berkshire’s position in Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU), selling all 13.8 million shares for a total of around $232 million. As of Wednesday’s close, Suncor stock has increased in value by around 21%. The Canadian oil sands producer pays a dividend yield of 2.76%.
Buffett reduced his stake in Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) from 28.7 million shares at the end of December 2020 to 17.9 million shares at the end of March 2021. The value of Berkshire’s remaining stake in Merck is around $1.4 billion, and the stock has gained more than 5% since March 31. Merck also pays a dividend yield of 3.43%.
Berkshire’s portfolio currently includes 10.7 million shares of Brazilian fintech firm StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ: STNE), down from about 14.2 million shares at the end of December. The value of Berkshire’s holding is around $677 million, and the stock has added about 3.5% to its share price in the second quarter. StoneCo does not pay a dividend.
Buffett owned 50 million shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) at the end of December. He reduced his stake by 12.7% in the first quarter and currently owns 43.7 million shares valued at around $284 million. Sirius XM stock has added nearly 8% to its share price and pays a dividend yield of 0.88%.
Buffett cut his stake in AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) by 10.4% in the first quarter, and his share total dropped from 25.5 million to 22.9 million. Berkshire’s stake is valued at around $2.6 billion. AbbVie stock has added 8% so far in the second quarter. The company pays a dividend yield of 4.49%.
Berkshire’s holding in General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) was cut by 7.6% in the first quarter, from 72.5 million to 67 million shares. GM shares have gained 7.5% so far in the second quarter, and Buffett’s stake is valued at around $4.1 billion. GM does not pay a dividend.
Buffet reduced his stake in drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) by nearly 7% to 31 million shares from a December holding of 33.3 million. The stock has added 6% so far in the second quarter, and Berkshire’s March stake is valued at around $2.1 billion. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.93%.
Berkshire lowered its stake in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) by just 1.1% between December and March. Buffet currently owns 129.7 million shares with a value of around $7.5 billion. U.S. Bank’s share price has appreciated by around 5.7% so far in the second quarter. The bank pays a dividend yield of 2.87%.
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