Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with diversified business interests. It is run by legendary investor Warren Buffett. The holding company follows the principles of value investing, propounded by Benjamin Graham. The company is also known for retaining its investments for a long period of time.
Consumer staple stocks form 37% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. It is followed closely by Finance stocks, contributing 32% of the portfolio. During September quarter, Berkshire Hathaway shuffled its portfolio to trim its positions in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI), while it showed interest in aviation sector and initiated positions in Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL) and American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL).
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) stock has advanced 17% this year so far and its dividend clocks in at a healthy 2.80%. The stock accounted for 0.73% of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. For the quarter ended on 30th September, 2016, the investment fund slashed its holding of the stock by 67% to 12.97 million shares. Of the hedge funds in our database, 58 funds currently hold $6.86 billion worth of Wal-Mart Stores shares in their portfolio at the end of the June quarter, which equals to 3% of the outstanding shares. Hedge funds are watching the stock closely in case Donald Trump follows through with his protectionist campagin promises, a development that would not be good for Wal-Mart.
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Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) stock gained 53% in this year so far. However, Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its holding of the stock by 24% during the quarter ended on 30th September, 2016. The fund held $462 million worth of Kinder Morgan stock at the end of the quarter, forming 0.36% of its portfolio. Berkshire Hathaway had 20 million shares of the company in its portfolio at the end of the period. Among the funds we track, 53 funds held $1.76 billion worth of Kinder Morgan’s stock in aggregate at the end of June, having amassed 4.20% of its outstanding stock. The company is currently waiting for Canadian approval for doubling the capacity of its pipeline to the Pacific. The decision is to be delivered by December 19. Kinder Morgan is looking to build a second pipeline right next to the existing Trans Mountain line running from the Alberta oil sands to the west coast.
