By Erik Holm
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) revealed
new stakes in Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and VeriSign Inc.
(VRSN), companies likely selected by a new generation of Berkshire
stock pickers.
The conglomerate, with a $75 billion U.S. equity portfolio, also
increased its positions in several of its smaller holdings in the
fourth quarter, another sign that Berkshire's new investment
managers are putting money to work. Its positions in companies
including General Motors Co. (GM), DirecTV (DTV), Precision
Castparts Corp. (PCP) and Wabco Holdings Inc. (WBC) all rose.
Many of the positions are worth less than $200 million--small by
Berkshire standards--and all are widely believed to be investments
selected by Berkshire's new portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted
Weschler.
Larger positions in International Business Machines Corp. (IBM),
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), all
favorites of Mr. Buffett, increased slightly in the fourth
quarter.
A stake in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) that had once been a
major position in the portfolio shrank again in the quarter to
327,100 shares as of Dec. 31. Berkshire held about 30 million
shares just nine months prior, but Mr. Buffett has said he was
selling off some positions to transfer more investable funds to Mr.
Combs and Mr. Weschler.
The ADM stake, valued at $163 million at the end of last year,
amounts to less than 1% of the shares outstanding in the
agricultural company. The $143 million stake in VeriSign Inc.
(VRSN), an Internet-domain-name company, is about 2% of the
outstanding shares.
Mr. Buffett's company, like other firms that control an
investment portfolio of more than $100 million, is required to
report stock holdings 45 days after the end of a given quarter,
giving the public its freshest possible glimpse into the investing
decisions of the "Oracle of Omaha."
Write to Erik Holm at erik.holm@dowjones.com
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