Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) made its first new buy since the fourth quarter with a purchase of credit services company Synchrony Financial (SYF, Financial).
Buffett had already revealed before quarter-end that he bought shares of real estate investment trust STORE Capital and confirmed a position worth 18,621,674 shares, representing 9.8% of its shares outstanding, in the portfolio released today.
Either Buffett or one of his portfolio managers, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs (filings do not distinguish who), also increased their holdings of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK, Financial), Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA, Financial)(LSXMK, Financial), General Motors (GM, Financial) and Apple (AAPL, Financial).
Synchrony
Berkshire acquired 17,463,000 shares of Synchrony Financial, which cost an average of $30 each in the second quarter. The holding represented 0.32% of its stock holdings. The share of Synchrony totaled 2.2%.
The company finances large purchases and elective health care, issuing the largest amount of private label credit cards in the U.S. It allows consumers to put a major purchase on a Synchrony credit card and make payments until they pay it off.
Increases
Berkshire increased its holding of Bank of New York Mellon by 52.2% to 1.58% of the portfolio. The holding represents 4.68% of the bank’s shares outstanding.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. has a market cap of $54.58 billion; its shares were traded around $52.83 Monday with a P/E ratio of 15.64 and P/S ratio of 3.58. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. stocks is 1.52%. The forward dividend yield of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. stocks is 1.84%. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 9.50% over the past five years.
Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA, Financial)
Berkshire increased its position in Liberty Sirius LSXMA shares 45.01% to 14,860,360, or 0.38% of the portfolio. The holding represents 4.42% of shares outstanding.
Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMK, Financial)
Berkshire increased its position in Liberty Sirius LSXMK shares by 39.38% to 31,090,985, or 9.25% of those outstanding. The stock traded for $39 on average during the quarter.
Liberty SiriusXM Group has a market cap of $14.59 billion; its shares were traded around $43.41 with a P/E ratio of 34.44 and P/S ratio of 2.65.
General Motors Co.
Berkshire boosted its General Motors holding by 20% to 60 million shares, or 4.12% of those outstanding. The stock traded on average for $34 during the quarter.
General Motors Co. has a market cap of $51.69 billion; its shares were traded around $35.47 Monday with a P/E ratio of 6.18 and P/S ratio of 0.33. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of General Motors Co. stocks is 4.28%. The forward dividend yield of General Motors Co. stocks is 4.35%. General Motors Co. had an annual average earnings growth of 8.2% over the past five years.
Apple Inc.
Berkshire raised its Apple holding 0.65% to 130,191,960 shares, or 11.56% of the portfolio. Berkshire holds 2.52% of its shares outstanding, and shares traded for $148 on average in quarter two.
Apple Inc. has a market cap of $825.66 billion; its shares were traded around $159.85 Monday with a P/E ratio of 18.11 and P/S ratio of 3.78. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Apple Inc. stocks is 1.5%. The forward dividend yield of Apple Inc. stocks is 1.6%. Apple Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 42.5% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Apple Inc. the business predictability rank of 3-star.
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