Jeffrey Goldfarb and Breakingviews columnists discuss why the $28 billion acquisition of Heinz by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital could take a long time to deliver.

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Berkshire Hathaway filed its 13F for Q2 2012, disclosing its equity investment holdings as of June 30, 2012.  At the top of the list is a $15.6Bn position in The Coca-Cola Co, representing over 20% of Berkshire’s equity portfolio holdings.  Wells Fargo and IBM follow closely behind with positions representing 18% and 17%, respectively, of the entire equity portfolio.  See the full investor profile on Berkshire Hathaway.  Check out other reports by Thomson Reuters Ownership Intelligence and follow @ownershipintel on Twitter.

The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway says his “elephant gun” is still locked and loaded, and that he’s searching for a deal valued between 10 and 20 billion dollars. Reuters correspondent Rhonda Schaffler caught up with Buffett after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha.

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Warren Buffett filed the 13F for Berkshire Hathaway. This investor profile gives an overview of the firm and its largest equity holdings.

See full profile here.

Highlights include:

• Total public equity assets of $68.2 billion
• Top holdings are in Coca-Cola, IBM, and Wells Fargo
• Buffett grew IBM by 6.6 million shares and Wells Fargo by 22.3 million shares
• 36% of its holdings are Consumer Staples stocks
• It lowered its Johnson & Johnson position by $553 million

Thomson Reuters Ownership Intelligence offers free access to industry reports, investor profiles, job movements of investment professionals, and much more. Follow us on Twitter.

 

By Joseph Griesbeck, CFA - Editor, Ownership Intelligence

Two US banks reported their earnings today, but each result differed based on their business models with the current market. With many common investors, the two banks have produced opposite trading directions for their shares. Five investors in particular will feel this effect as they belong in the top ten active holders lists for each company.

Q4 2011 earnings fell for Citigroup Inc (C-N), down 11% compared to a year ago, primarily because its investment banking operations suffered from the capital markets conditions. Fidelity is Citi’s top shareholder, owning 4.1% of the common equity, and two of the Capital Group Companies together own 3.7% of the shares outstanding.

Even though it holds less than 1 percent of Citi shares, hedge fund Pershing Square’s $800 million investment in the bank represents 10% of its equity portfolio, according to its most recent filings. It should be concerned that Citi’s 38 cents per share profit missed Wall Street’s estimates of 49 cents, especially after being revised downward from 76 cents per share two weeks ago.

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC-N), on the other hand, saw its profits grow 20% on improved credit quality and loan growth. Its largest shareholder, Berkshire Hathaway, holds 361 million shares worth $11 billion before trading began this morning. Buffett’s WFC position makes up 18% of his publicly traded equities portfolio as of its latest 13F.

Wells Fargo benefitted from the current market by having commercial lending as its biggest sector, and Citi CEO Pandit admitted the bank needed to realign itself in response to the macro environment. Investors in US banks may continue to see similar results as Morgan Stanley and Goldman will announce earnings this week.

See full report here.

Thomson Reuters Ownership Intelligence offers free access to industry reports, investor profiles, job movements of investment professionals, and much more. Follow us on Twitter.

 

Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings will make its first move into solar energy with the purchase of First Solar’s Topaz Solar Farm power plant in California.

Warren Buffett’s recent 5.5 percent stake in IBM marks a rare occasion where the oracle of Omaha takes interest in tech, but Breakingviews says it’s not that surprising or special.

Warren Buffett was a featured speaker at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit this week. In an interview with Fortune’s senior editor at large, Carol Loomis, Buffett discussed his views on taxes, the budget deficit, Europe’s financial crisis, our own domestic residential housing crisis, and the role of women in business and leadership positions.

About Taxes:

Raising taxes on the rich won’t solve our budget problem, says Buffett, but it would generate approximately $20 billion that could result in $20,000 into the pockets of 20 million US families.

“I would like to see a minimum tax of somewhere in the 30s for all returns of $1 million and above,” stated Buffett. Right now if you buy a stock and hold it for ten seconds and have a profit, 60% is called a long term gain, he explained. “That is not a policy based on logic, that is a policy based on lobbying.”

About the U.S. Budget Deficit:

“We have a huge revenue and expense problem in this country. We have to cut expenses, and that’s going to affect the American public. Whatever is done, you and I won’t like it.”

About Europe’s Financial Crisis:

Carol Loomis asked Buffett to comment on Europe ‘s financial crisis. “Is it still there? he quipped.

He continued, “Ten years from now I guarantee that Europe will be living better than it is today. They will get through this, it’s just a matter of how quickly. Europe needs a unified structure at the top that is willing to act in a big, big way.” And he quoted former president George Bush, saying, “If money doesn’t loosen up, this sucker will go down.”

About America’s Residential Housing Market (more…)

Thomson Reuters Ownership Intelligence offers free access to industry reports, investor profiles, job movements of investment professionals, and much more. Follow them on Twitter.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced yesterday that it will launch a share buyback program using cash on hand for funding. At the end of June, it had almost $48 billion in cash before spending $15 billion so far this quarter, but it would not repurchase the shares if it makes the company’s cash position drop below $20 billion. This buyback is the first in Berkshire’s history, and it comes as investors see the company as undervalued.

Continuing from yesterday’s close, the market approves of this move by trading both classes of shares higher.

This ownership report identifies the top institutional investors in each class.

Thomson Reuters Ownership Intelligence offers free access to industry reports, investor profiles, job movements of investment professionals, and much more. Follow them on Twitter.

Berkshire Hathaway announced today that it added another investment manager to join in Buffett’s succession. Ted Weschler who will join the company early next year and Todd Combs, who joined the company last year, will manage its entire equity and debt portfolio after Buffett retires, possibly aided by a third manager.

These investor profiles compare the equity investment styles of Berkshire and Peninsula Capital, the fund run by the newly hired Weschler.