With just a couple of weeks remaining in the second quarter of this year, we’re taking 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.
Buffett exited Berkshire’s position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF), selling all 20.13 million shares for a total of nearly $700 million. As of Tuesday’s close, Synchrony stock has increased in value by around 24%. The financial services firm pays a dividend yield of 1.76%.
Berkshire has long held a substantial position in Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Berkshire owned 52.42 million shares of Wells Fargo stock, which Buffett increased by 98.7% in the first quarter to 675,054 shares, representing a remaining value of $26.37 million remaining in Berkshire’s portfolio. So far in the second quarter, Wells Fargo’s stock has gained 16.6%. The bank pays a dividend yield of 0.89%.
At the end of December 2020, Berkshire owned just over 18 million shares of Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ: LBTYA). Buffett sold 81.3% of that stake for $436.2 million in the first quarter of this year. Berkshire currently owns 3.36 million shares of Liberty Global. The stock has added about 9.2% so far in the second quarter. Liberty Global pays no dividend.
Buffett sold 51.2% of Berkshire’s holding in Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) in the first quarter, leaving his holdings at 23.67 million shares. At the end of December, Berkshire owned 48.5 million shares of Chevron stock valued at $4.1 billion. So far in the second quarter, Chevron stock has added 6.55% to its share price, and the company pays a dividend yield of 4.96%.
Berkshire lightened its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Inc. (NYSE: AXTA) by 40.7% during the first quarter, from a year-end 2020 total of 23.42 million shares to 13.89 million. The value of the remaining stake is around $410.8 million. Axalta shares have added nearly 6% to date in the second quarter. The company does not pay a dividend.
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