Which New Stocks Does Warren Buffett Like?

Warren Buffett being the most notorious investment is always in the middle of attention, especially on the last day of 13F filings round, when his fund, Berkshire Hathaway releases its equity portfolio for the previous quarter. In the latest filing, released today, Berkshire Hathaway disclosed an equity portfolio worth $107.58 billion, which contains 141 positions. While, Mr. Buffett usually does not change much his top holdings, which are represented by Wells Fargo -which is one of the biggest banks in the World-, Coca Cola, and American Express, it is more worth taking a look at the new acquisitions made during the quarter. In this way, during the April-June period, Berkshire added two new holdings, represented by Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) and NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW). In addition, Mr. Buffett has significantly raised his exposure to another stock, in which he has initiated a stake during the last quarter, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ).

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Therefore, between the two new holdings, Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is the largest holding. Berkshire reported ownership of almost 2.31 million shares with a total value of $365.70 million. Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a large-cap company engaged in providing cable services in the U.S. The company is showing a stable growth over the past year in terms of stock price. On the financial side, in the second quarter of the year, the company has significantly improved its bottom line, narrowing its net loss to $45 million from $95 million a year earlier, and posted a 7.3% annual increase in revenue to $2.3 billion, mainly caused by the company gaining more customers in both residential and commercial segments. Another investor in Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is Philippe Laffont, whose fund, Coatue Management, added around 1.35 million shares during the second quarter, currently holding 2.73 million shares.

Another new position in Mr. Buffett’s 13F portfolio, as it was mentioned earlier, is NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW). However, Berkshire disclosed a small stake in the company, which contains 1.83 million shares with a total value of $66.1 million. It is also important to mention that the investor received the shares following the spin-off of the company from National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV), of which Berkshire holds 7.30 million shares as of the end of June. The spun-off company NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW) is engaged in the distribution of oil and gas products, operating under two brands: DistributionNOW and Wilson Export.

Another stock that is worth watching, is Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). Berkshire reported a stake in the company as of the end of the first quarter and during the second quarter, the fund further boosted its holding by adding 3.98 million shares. Currently, Mr. Buffett owns through Berkshire around 15 million shares, the total value of the stake amounting to almost $734 million. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) keeps delivering significant results, reporting double-digit earnings growth for the past several quarters. In the second quarter, the company posted EPS of $0.91 per share, versus $0.73 per share reported a year ago, and even though its stock inched down by 0.28% since the beginning of the year, the stock has started to grow since May, and taking into account Mr. Buffett’s commitment to long-term value creation, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) might have a potential to grow further in the future.

Disclosure: none