Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (BRKa, BRKb) U.S. equity portfolio was worth $75.30 billion at the end of the March 2012, up from $66.15 billion at the end of December 2011, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday.
As per a regulatory requirement, companies that control an investment portfolio of more than $100 million are required to report its U.S. stock holdings 45 days after the end of each quarter.
According to the quarterly holdings statement, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company has raised its stake in healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kraft Foods, Inc. (KFT), John Malone-controlled Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK), dialysis centers operator DaVita Inc. (DVA), and banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), a Buffet favorite.
The company has also slightly raised its holdings in DirecTV, Inc. (DTV) and technology giant International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), while significantly raising its holdings in retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT).
However, Berkshire has lowered its holdings in chipmaker Intel Corp. (INTC), Dollar General Corp. (DG), Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK), and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), the filing shows.
At the same time, the filing revealed Berkshire's new investments in automaker General Motors Co. (GM) of 10 million shares valued at $256.5 million and in Paramount studios owner Viacom, Inc. (VIA) of 1.59 million shares valued at $75.5 million.
Further, the company has sold its small stake of 1.53 million shares in Comdisco Holding Co. (CDCO.PK), according to the filing.
Meanwhile, as Berkshire has been granted permission by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep some holdings information confidential for now, some of the changes in holdings might not have been revealed by the company in the filing.
Buffet's stock picks are closely watched by money managers and other investors as an indicator of market movements in the future.
Berkshire's Class A shares closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $121,425, down $250.00. The company's Class B shares closed at $80.21, down $0.32, but gained $0.18 in after hours trading.
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