Legendary investor Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B), is known for his preference of investing in wonderful companies at fair prices that have strong competitive advantages and predictable businesses for the long term. This strategy has contributed to his strong performance of an average annual return of 20% since 1965.
Comparatively, when picking stocks, Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio)’s Weitz Investment Management combines Benjamin Graham's principles of price sensitivity and insistence on margin of safety with a conviction that qualitative factors that allow the company to control its future can be more important than statistical metrics like book value and earnings.
While the two Omaha, Nebraska-based gurus take slightly different approaches to investing, they still have several holdings in common.
According to the Aggregated Portfolio, a Premium GuruFocus feature based on 13F filings, the veteran value investors both have positions in Aon PLC (AON, Financial), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Financial), Mastercard Inc. (MA, Financial), Markel Group Inc. (MKL, Financial) and Visa Inc. (V, Financial), among several other stocks, as of the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.
Aon
Buffett curbed his Aon (AON, Financial) stake by 1.39% to 4.33 million shares, while Weitz reduced his position by 1.69% during the quarter. The combined equity portfolio weight is 3.08%.
The British insurance company, which offers a range of financial risk-mitigation products, has a $66.93 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $327.68 on Wednesday with a price-earnings ratio of 26.30 and a price-sales ratio of 5.44.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is fairly valued currently based on its historical ratios, past financial performance and analysts’ future earnings projections.
At 84 out of 100, the GF Score indicates the company has good outperformance potential. While it received high ratings for profitability, growth and momentum, financial strength is more moderate and the value rank is low.
GuruFocus data shows Buffett has gained an estimated 48.39% on his investment since the first quarter of 2021, while Weitz has generated a 118.64% return on the long-held stock.
Of the gurus invested in Aon, Buffett has the largest stake with 2.12% of its outstanding shares. First Pacific Advisors (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Romick (Trades, Portfolio), the MS Global Franchise Portfolio (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio) and several other gurus also own the stock.
Amazon
Buffett trimmed his holding of Amazon (AMZN, Financial) by 1.08% to 10.55 million shares during the quarter, while Weitz left his holding unchanged at 400,000 shares. They have a combined equity portfolio weight of 2.74% in the stock.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has a market cap of $1.28 trillion; its shares were trading around $124.45 on Wednesday with a price-earnings ratio of 296.30, a price-book ratio of 8.26 and a price-sales ratio of 2.44.
According to the GF Value Line, the stock is significantly undervalued currently.
The GF Score of 94 implies the company has high outperformance potential, driven by high ratings for profitability, growth, value and momentum as well as a more moderate financial strength rank.
GuruFocus says Buffett has gained an estimated 47.92% on his investment since the first quarter of 2019, while Weitz has gained 51.12% since the fourth quarter of 2015.
With a 0.40% stake, Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) is Amazon’s largest guru shareholder. Other top guru investors include Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Frank Sands (Trades, Portfolio), Al Gore (Trades, Portfolio)’s Generation Investment and the Harbor Capital Appreciation Fund (Trades, Portfolio).
Mastercard
Weitz reduced his Mastercard position by 4.46% to 214,050 shares during the quarter, while Buffett left his stake unchanged at 3.98 million shares. Together, they have a combined equity portfolio weight of 4.97% in the stock.
The financial services company headquartered in Purchase, New York, which provides global payment technology solutions and services, has a $355.47 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $375.11 on Wednesday with a price-earnings ratio of 37.47, a price-book ratio of 66.75 and a price-sales ratio of 15.85.
Based on the GF Value Line, the stock appears to be modestly undervalued currently.
The GF Score of 98 means the company has high outperformance potential on the back of solid ratings for four of the criteria and a more moderate financial strength rank.
GuruFocus estimates Buffett has gained 773.21% on his long-held investment. Weitz has gained 171.89%.
Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio) is Mastercard’s largest guru shareholder with a 0.62% stake. The stock is also being held by Fisher, Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Harbor Capital, Gore’s firm and Steve Mandel (Trades, Portfolio), among many others.
Markel
While Buffett boosted his Markel Group (MKL, Financial) holding by 0.87% during the quarter to 471,664 shares, Weitz trimmed his position by 11.77%. Together, the gurus have a combined equity portfolio weight of 2.64%.
The Glen Allen, Virginia-based insurance company has a market cap of $17.92 billion; its shares were trading around $1,342.96 on Wednesday with a price-earnings ratio of 65.13, a price-book ratio of 1.36 and a price-sales ratio of 1.41.
The GF Value Line suggests the stock is modestly undervalued currently.
Supported by high momentum and growth ratings, the GF Score of 84 indicates the company has good outperformance potential. The profitability, financial strength and value ranks are more moderate.
According to GuruFocus, Buffett has gained an estimated 3.23% on his investment so far. Weitz has gained approximately 19.20% on the investment over its lifetime.
Holding a 3.53% stake, Buffett is Markel’s largest guru shareholder. The stock is also being held by Baillie Gifford (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), Russo, Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies and Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio).
Visa
In the first quarter, Buffett left his Visa (V, Financial) stake unchanged at 8.30 million shares, while Weitz reduced his holding by 4.92%. The gurus have a combined equity portfolio weight of 5.50% in the stock.
The company headquartered in San Francisco, which facilitates electronic payments and provides credit card services, has a $474.19 billion market cap; its shares were trading around $226.41 on Wednesday with a price-earnings ratio of 30.27, a price-book ratio of 12.30 and a price-sales ratio of 15.43.
According to the GF Value Line, the stock is modestly undervalued currently.
Receiving solid ratings across the board, the GF Score of 98 means the company has high outperformance potential.
GuruFocus found Buffett has gained 387.90% on his long-held investment, while Weitz has gained roughly 119.10% to date.
Sands is the company’s largest guru shareholder with a 0.43% stake. Other gurus with notable positions in Visa include Fisher, Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio), Akre, PRIMECAP Management (Trades, Portfolio), Harbor Capital, Mandel, the Scotia Canadian Dividend Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Diamond Hill Capital (Trades, Portfolio), Grantham and Simons’ firm.
Additional picks and portfolio composition
The two gurus also had positions in Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA, Financial), Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR, Financial) and Diageo PLC (DEO, Financial).
Buffett’s $325.11 billion equity portfolio, which is composed of 48 stocks, is largely invested in the technology and financial services sectors.
Weitz’s $1.72 billion equity portfolio, which is made up of 51 stocks, is heavily invested in the financial services, technology and communication services sectors.
