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

Warren Buffett boosted his position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 5.83 million shares or 34% during the last three months of 2015, ending the year with 22.88 million shares. The stake was worth nearly $1.75 billion at the end of the year. The shares of the manufacturer of agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery are almost 14% in the red for the past 12 months, mainly owing to lower demand for machinery due to lower crop prices and slumping economic growth. The company operates through three principal business segments, which include the agriculture and turf segment, the construction and forestry segment, and the financial services segment. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)’s net sales for the fiscal year 2015 that ended October 31 totaled $28.86 billion, down from $36.07 billion reported for the prior year. Net sales generated from the agriculture and turf segment, which accounted for nearly 69% of total sales in fiscal 2015, decreased to $19.81 billion from $26.38 billion year-on-year. Earlier this month, Deere & Company completed the acquisition of European precision planter specialist Monosem; a deal that will enhance the acquirer’s market reach in precision planting equipment. Generation Investment Management, co-founded by David Blood and Al Gore, owns 6.10 million shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) as of December 31.

Last but not least, Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 12.74 million shares or 21% during the final quarter of 2015, remaining with 46.58 million shares valued at $1.60 billion. The shares of the telecommunications giant are up by 6% over the past 52 weeks, amid gaining almost 7% since the beginning of 2016. AT&T generated revenues of $146.8 billion during 2015, which marked an annual increase of 10.8%. Moreover, the company’s earnings per share increased to $2.71 from $2.56. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s management anticipates a great 2016 in term of financial performance, expecting double-digit consolidated revenue growth for the year. Meanwhile, it appears that the stock is fairly valued relative to its peers in the Telecommunication Services industry if solely relying on P/E metrics; the stock trades at a forward P/E of 12.29, versus the Telecommunication Services industry ratio of 13.0. It is also hard to ignore the annual dividend of $1.92 per share paid by AT&T, which gives its stock a dividend yield of 5.26%. D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P., founded by David E. Shaw, boosted its holding in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) by 5.97 million shares during the December quarter to 9.16 million shares.

Disclosure: None