A Look at Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Notable Bets and Top Moves for 2016

Berkshire reported owning 325.63 million shares of Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) as of the end of the fourth quarter, valued at $23.69 billion. The sizable position was not changed during the final quarter of 2015 and amassed 17.97% of Berkshire’s 13F portfolio. Let us remind you that Warren Buffett and investment firm 3G Capital teamed up last year to create one of the largest food and beverage conglomerates in the world by merging H.J. Heinz Co. and The Kraft Foods Group. The shares of the newly-created behemoth have lost slightly less than 1% since they began trading following the merger in early July 2015. Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) is currently undergoing a multi-year program aimed at cutting costs, integrating, and optimizing the combined company. The program is anticipated to reach $1.5 billion in pre-tax savings by 2017. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global added a 2.08 million-share position in Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) to its portfolio during the December quarter.

Berkshire’s stake in The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), contained 400 million shares at the end of December, which were aggregately valued at $17.18 billion. The stake constituted 13.03% of the company’s entire equity portfolio. The world’s biggest soft-drink company has seen its shares advance nearly 4% over the past 12-month period. Although the company’s stock performance does not seem to be exceptional, one should not forget that Coca-Cola pays a dividend of $1.32 per share and its stock sports a dividend yield of 3.06%. The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO)’s net operating revenues totaled $44.29 billion in 2015, down from $46.00 billion reported a year earlier. However, the company’s management anticipates 2016 organic revenue growth in the range of 4% to 5%. It is also worth mentioning that Coca-Cola’s 2015 diluted net income per share increased to $1.67 from $1.60 in 2014. Donald Yacktman’s Yacktman Asset Management cut its stake in The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) by 4.97 million shares during the October-to-December period to 19.92 million shares.