On Thursday, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) CEO Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s net worth eclipsed $100 billion for the first time in the "Oracle of Omaha's" 90-year history on the heels of Berkshire shares and the conglomerate's top six holdings producing strong gains during the first months of 2021.
According to FactSet, Buffett owns 249,000 shares of Berkshire's Class A stock, giving him a 38% stake in his Omaha, Nebraska-based insurance conglomerate. The stake is worth $101.5 billion at Wednesday's intraday-high price of $407,750.
Class A shares of Berkshire closed at $396,399, down $2,441 from Wednesday's record close of $398,840. The stock opened above $400,000 Thursday morning and has gained approximately 14.67% in the year to date. According to GuruFocus' own valuation method, shares are fairly valued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.07.
Berkshire stock soars following strong full-year 2020 earnings
The insurance conglomerate reported "better-than-feared" performance during 2020 even though businesses like railroads and retail suffered from the coronavirus pandemic. Revenues of $245.5 billion declined just 3.5% year over year.
GuruFocus ranks Berkshire's profitability 7 out of 10 on the back of net margins and returns outperforming over 70% of global competitors. The website gave Berkshire a four-star business predictability rank.
Gurus with large holdings in Berkshire's Class B shares include Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio)' foundation trust, Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio)'s Markel Corp. (MKL, Financial) and Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio)' Davis Select Advisors.
Berkshire's Class B shares gained approximately 13.85% in the year to date.
Berkshire equity portfolio summary
According to top 10 holdings statistics, a Premium feature of GuruFocus, Berkshire's top six holdings as of the December 2020 filing are Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial), Bank of America Corp. (BAC, Financial), Coca-Cola Co. (KO, Financial), American Express Co. (AXP, Financial), The Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC, Financial) and Verizon Inc. (VZ, Financial). Verizon surged to the conglomerate's sixth-largest holding following the company's more than 88 million-share purchase during the fourth quarter; the position has a 3.19% equity portfolio weight.
Shares of the New York-based telecommunications company closed at $55.51, down approximately 1.77% for the year to date. The stock is fairly valued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.99.
GuruFocus ranks Verizon's (VZ, Financial) profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include profit margins and returns outperforming over 76% of global competitors.
Apple
Berkshire owns 887,135,554 shares of Apple (AAPL, Financial), allocating 43.61% of its equity portfolio to the position. Shares of the Cupertino, California-based tech giant closed at $121.96, up 1.65% from the previous close of $119.98 but down approximately 9.42% in the year to date. Despite this, Apple is significantly overvalued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.60.
GuruFocus ranks Apple's profitability 9 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 and profit margins and returns that outperform over 95% of global competitors.
Bank of America
Berkshire owns 1,010,100,606 shares of Bank of America (BAC, Financial), dedicating 11.34% of its equity portfolio to the stake. Shares closed at $37.24; the stock has gained approximately 23.89% in the year to date. Despite this, the stock is modestly overvalued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.16.
GuruFocus ranks the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank's profitability 5 out of 10 on the back of net profit margins and returns trending close to the industry median net margin and return.
Coca-Cola
Berkshire owns 400 million shares of Coca-Cola (KO, Financial), giving the position 8.13% equity portfolio space. Shares closed at $50.88; the stock has returned approximately -6.2% in the year to date. Nonetheless, the stock is fairly valued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.07.
GuruFocus ranks the Atlanta-based beverage giant's profitability 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a return on equity that outperforms over 95% of global competitors and an operating margin that has increased approximately 5.4% per year over the past five years. Despite this, Coca-Cola's three-year revenue decline rate of 3% underperforms more than 70% of global competitors.
American Express
Berkshire owns 151,610,700 shares of American Express (AXP, Financial), giving the position 6.79% equity portfolio weight. Shares closed at $147.75; the stock gained approximately 21.73% in the year to date. Despite this, shares are modestly overvalued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.26.
GuruFocus ranks the New York-based credit service company's profitability 5 out of 10 on the back of net margins and returns trending near the industry median margins and returns.
Kraft Heinz
Berkshire owns 325,634,818 shares of Kraft Heinz (KHC, Financial), with most of the shares gained as part of a control group. The shares, which occupy 4.18% of the equity portfolio, gained 13.99% in the year to date yet are modestly overvalued based on Thursday's price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.17.
GuruFocus ranks the Pittsburgh-based consumer packaged food company's profitability 6 out of 10: Operating margins are outperforming over 92% of global competitors despite returns underperforming more than 65% of global consumer packaged food companies.
Disclosure: The author is long Apple. The holdings mentioned in this article reflect Berkshire's holdings as of the December 2020 filing and do not include any trades or portfolio hedges that Berkshire made in the first few months of 2021.
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