Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has used the ongoing market selloff as an opportunity to buy the dip and add several new major positions as his investing conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, deployed tens of billions of dollars into stocks during the first quarter, according to new regulatory filings.
The famed investor aggressively bought the dip last quarter as markets tanked.
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KEY FACTS
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took advantage of the ongoing market turbulence to enter into eight new positions and add to many others during the first quarter of 2022, with most of its buying activity occurring in early March. Buffett’s investing conglomerate disclosed several new stakes late on Monday, including 55 million shares of Citigroup (worth around $2.6 billion) and 69 million shares of media giant Paramount Global (worth around $1.9 billion). Berkshire Hathaway now owns a more than 10% stake in Paramount, which rebranded from ViacomCBS earlier in 2022, while also revealing a new $390 million stake in Ally Financial last quarter. Shares of all three companies jumped on Tuesday following the news that Buffett had taken a position: Paramount surged 14%, Citi 7% and Ally nearly 5%. Berkshire Hathaway also made sizable purchases in two energy companies—Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, legacy tech giant HP and video game company Activision Blizzard, though the moves had previously been disclosed.
Buffett’s investing conglomerate now owns roughly 159 million shares in Chevron (worth around $27 billion), 143 million shares of Occidental (nearly $10 billion), 121 million shares of HP (over $4 billion) and 64 million shares of Activision ($5 billion).
SURPRISING FACT
Berkshire Hathaway spent more than $51 billion on stocks in the three months ending March 31, its biggest quarterly spending spree in recent history.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Berkshire notably exited two large stakes during the first quarter. Buffett sold all of his shares in Wells Fargo, which had previously been a top holding and had been part of his portfolio since 1989. The 91-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” also sold nearly all of his $8 billion stake in telecom giant Verizon, holding just 1.4 million shares at the end of March—way down from the more than 150 million shares he owned at the end of December 2021.
BIG NUMBER
$113.3 billion. That’s how much Buffett is worth, according to Forbes’ calculations. He is the fifth-richest person in the world, with his net worth rising $1.5 billion by midday on Tuesday as shares of Berkshire Hathaway jumped over 1%.
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