Buffett will disclose his first-quarter buys and sells in two weeks, after unloading his up-to-date investing thoughts and witticisms for a sea of shareholders and a livestreamed audience last weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) meeting in Omaha.
Whether you heard the meeting or not, you can guess which stocks Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) bought in the first quarter by entering three stocks in the comment section below, along with a brief explanation of why. We'll send the top three winners an investing book of their choice from Amazon!
At the meeting, Buffett covered a lot of ground as far as holdings, from why his largest position, Coca-Cola (KO, Financial), makes people happy if not healthy, to how the price of oil has no influence on his oil investment decisions, like Phillips 66 (PSX, Financial) or Kinder Morgan (KMI, Financial). (Buffett confirmed that one of his associates, Ted Weschler or Todd Combs, bought Kinder Morgan last quarter.)
Of note during the meeting, Buffett mentioned Jeff Bezos' $328.4 billion Amazon (AMZN, Financial) as a competitive risk investors should beware when selecting companies and praised him as a manager. Buffett has said he has to look for big opportunities to deploy capital of $1 billion or more.
He also reiterated his attachment to Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial), saying it was one of the few stocks in Berkshire's portfolio to overlap with his personal holdings. Last quarter, it was one of only four holdings in which he increased his shares.
The largest position Buffett added to was Deere & Co. (DE, Financial), the farm machinery company. Bruce Greenwald also likes the company and gave a detailed thesis on why it is set to prosper in his presentation at the GuruFocus Value Conference last weekend.
Buffett's top five holdings at the end of the fourth quarter were: Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial), Kraft Heinz (KHC, Financial), Coca-Cola (KO, Financial), IBM (IBM, Financial) and American Express (AXP, Financial). Phillips 66 is out of the running because as an owner of more than 5% of the company he would have had to report any changes in a special filing within several days.
Below is a sample of prize books a winner can choose:
· Joel Greenblatt: The Little Book That Still Beats the Market (Little Books. Big Profits)
· Joel Greenblatt: You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits
· Benjamin Graham: The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition)
· Martin Whitman: The Aggressive Conservative Investor
· Peter Lynch: Beating the Street
· Peter Lynch: One Up on Wall Street: How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market
· Benjamin Graham: Security Analysis: The Classic 1934 Edition
· David Dreman: Contrarian Investment Strategies - The Next Generation
· The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
· Howard Marks: The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor
Again, to participate in the contest, just enter three stocks in the comments section below. We'll notify the winners when the portfolio comes out by May 15. Good luck.
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