Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought a big stake in Activision Blizzard in the fourth quarter, just before Microsoft agreed to buy the gaming company in a deal valued at $69 billion.
Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) said on Jan. 18 that it was offering $95 a share in cash for Activision (ATVI), a 45% premium. The stock closed on Monday at $81.50. Berkshire’s stake of 14.7 millions shares of Activision is now worth more than $1 billion.
During the fourth quarter, Buffett’s conglomerate also added to its investment in Chevron (CVX) while sharply reducing its holdings in drugmakers Bristol Myers Squibb
(BMY) and AbbVie (ABBV), according to a quarterly 13-F filing made Monday. And it sold a small stake in the generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA)
Berkshire Hathaway (ticker BRK. A and BRK. B) bought nearly 10 million shares of Chevron in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 38.2 million shares, worth $5.2 billion.
Berkshire continued to pare its stakes in AbbVIe and Bristol Myers, reducing its stake in AbbVie by more than 11 million shares to 3 million shares and cutting its holding in Bristol Myers to 5.2 million from 22 million shares on Sept. 30, 2021.
Berkshire eliminated a holding in Teva Pharmaceutical during the fourth quarter that totaled 42 million shares on Sept. 30 that was worth about $400 million.
Berkshire reduced its stake in Charter Communications (CHTR) by about 400,000 shares to 3.8 million and cut its holding in Visa (V) by 1.3 million shares to 8.3 million.
Berkshire showed a stake of 107 million shares of Nu Holdings (NU), the parent of Brazilian fintech company Nubank, that is now worth about $900 million. Berkshire had invested $500 million in the company during 2021 ahead of its December initial public offering.
Berkshire initiated a holding of 2.1 million shares in Formula One Group
(FWONK), one of three tracking stocks for Liberty Media , in the fourth quarter. That stake is now worth about $130 million.
Small positions like Formula One Group generally are initiated by Buffett’s investment lieutenants Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, who each run an estimated 5% of the Berkshire equity portfolio. Buffett tends to traffic in multibillion-dollar holdings that can move the needle at the $700 billion (market value) company.
The 13-F filing also shows the effect of fourth-quarter swap with Liberty Media in which Berkshire’s Geico unit exchanged 43.7 million shares of Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI), the satellite radio company, for 5.3 million shares of Liberty SiriusXM Group (LSXMA), another tracking stock for Liberty Media, which is controlled by John Malone.
Write to Andrew Bary at [email protected]
