# Warren Buffett stocks in 2017



## Shadow (Aug 31, 2016)

With Warren Buffett giving up his WMT stocks and buying into the airline stocks 2017 is going to see some major changes.

Even though Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) does not pay an annual dividend, Buffet isn’t shy about his love of investing in dividend-yielding stock, which is why many investors want a peek inside Warren Buffett’s top 10 high-dividend-paying stocks of all time.

Warren Buffet’s portfolio consists of 44 publicly traded companies. The vast majority of them (32) provide dividends, a number of which provide annual dividends in excess of four percent. Below is a list of the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in Warren Buffet’s portfolio. 
This thread is to know more about his profile and future strategies.


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## Shadow (Aug 31, 2016)

Some of the Stocks in Warren Buffett's portfolio that pay him are:
*General Electric Company
*
From turbines and TVs to aircraft engines and power plants, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) brings good things to life. Of the 12 companies that made up the original Dow Jones Industrial Average way back in 1896, only GE is still on the list.
*Deere & Company
*
Deere & Company (NYSEE) is one of the world’s largest makers of farm equipment. It is also a major producer of construction, forestry, and commercial and residential lawn care equipment.

Deere operates through three business segments: agriculture and turf, construction and forestry, and credit services. The company sells John Deere and other brands through retail dealer networks and also makes products for outlets Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowes (NYSE:LOW).
*Procter & Gamble Company
*Procter & Gamble Company (NYSEG) is a consumer staples giant with a global footprint reaching more than 180 countries. The world’s largest maker of consumer packaged goods operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric Care and Home Care; and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. 

Source: Warren Buffett Dividend stocks


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Do you want to invest like Warren Buffett? His stock portfolio is a relatively small part of Berkshire Hathaway. The other major components of BRK are: direct ownership of many businesses, including connections to managers. And his large fixed income holdings, large option derivative positions, and occasional positions in warrants and preferreds. Geico insurance alone is a huge part of Berkshire Hathaway. _He controls it ... this is a lot different from buying public shares._

How come everyone gets so excited about the "Buffett stock portfolio" and forgets about his bonds and everything else? Oh yeah... because this way I can play at home and feel like I can be as rich as Buffett with the simplicity of buying stocks.

No problem at all with his stock picks, but recognize that it's a small part of BRK. If you really want the fruits of Buffett's good management, then buy BRK.B shares. And don't expect that duplicating his stock portfolio is going to mirror the growth in BRK.B shares, because these are very different things. The BRK equity reflects the sum of everything I mentioned above... huge stakes in businesses, bonds, derivatives, etc.

By the way, what % of BRK's market cap is made up of the public stock portfolio? What % is made up of the bond portfolio?

And why do they even hold any bonds at all?? Surely equities will always perform so much better than bonds, so what's the point of holding any bonds? I notice that many retirees on our forums are 100% in equities... Buffett must be stupid to keep investing in bonds!


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## hboy54 (Sep 16, 2016)

james4beach said:


> And why do they even hold any bonds at all?? Surely equities will always perform so much better than bonds, so what's the point of holding any bonds? I notice that many retirees on our forums are 100% in equities... Buffett must be stupid to keep investing in bonds!


First, let's throw out the rhetorical Falsehood that stocks always outperform bonds. All they do is outperform in the long term most of the time, the expected value is higher.

Buffet of course knows this, but he had a big disadvantage that I don't have. He has to answer to skittish shareholders. These shareholders like you, want, even insist upon choosing a lower expected value to gain lower volatility.

I'm short, Buffet has to pay attention to both returns and volatility, I only returns. I have the luxury of ruthlessly following the expected value.

Another factor: I have no idea what bonds he holds, but to the extent they are not investment grade, then they are really stock in bond clothing. I have no idea, because I do not worship at his feet. You seem to think all equity guys do, so I'll disabuse you of that notion.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Unless an investor bought shares in the dividend companies at the same time the Buffet did, there is no hope to come close to the "returns" he receives.

Coca Cola pays about a 3.4 % dividend. Based on what Buffet paid for the stock, he is receiving about 41% return on his investment in Coke.

Dividends raise an enormous amount of capital for Berkshire every year, and Buffet uses those returns to acquire profitable companies.

_Each year, Berkshire receives billions of dollars in dividends from its portfolio holdings. 

Berkshire’s top five holdings account for 66% of the portfolio’s value._

_Twenty years ago, you could have picked up a share of Coca-Cola for around $15.50. This means a 1995 Coca-Cola investor receives an 8.5% yield on his initial investment today. This is more than double *Coca-Cola’s current 3.4% yield*.

Berkshire is doing a little better, though. Buffett began buying Coca-Cola shares in 1988. Split adjusted, Berkshire’s cost basis on Coca-Cola is estimated to be around $3.25 a share. *This means Berkshire earns 41% annually from dividends alone on its Coca-Cola investment. Coca-Cola raises its dividend roughly 7% each year. Within the next 13 years, Berkshire should earn 100% annually on its cost basis.*_

_Now, repeat this investing paradigm with the other top four holdings (and with many of Berkshire’s holdings) and you can appreciate why Berkshire’s value grows over time.
_
http://www.wyattresearch.com/article/buffett-dividend-income/


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## Oldroe (Sep 18, 2009)

And he went to Harvard with the CEO of Coke.


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## TomB19 (Sep 24, 2015)

Oldroe said:


> And he went to Harvard with the CEO of Coke.


Who? I'm pretty sure Warren Buffett did not go to Harvard. He applied, was interviewed, was rejected outright, and went to Columbia Business School.

I've learned a lot by watching Warren Buffett interviews. I really appreciate that he shares himself with the world. I've learned more about life than I have about investing, but plenty about both.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

If Buffett was a small investor I am sure he would not buy BRK nor would he buy any of the stocks in the BRK portfolio. I base this on some public statements he has made.

Over the years he has changed his investment style to reflect his growing wealth and changing economic conditions. He still believes in buying undervalued, little known companies even though he can't buy them himself anymore. The reason being, you can buy $50,000 or $500,000 of a little company's stock without moving the price but when you have billions to invest you can't. This is why he changed to buying stock in giant companies like Coca Cola, or buying smaller companies outright.

These days he laughs about buying stocks like the New York Trap Rock Company, the Virginia Natural Bridge Company and all those little auto parts companies in Detroit but in the fifties he "killed the Dow" as he put it, with those stocks.


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## Steve Divi (Jul 14, 2016)

james4beach said:


> How come everyone gets so excited about the "Buffett stock portfolio" and forgets about his bonds and everything else? Oh yeah... because this way I can play at home and feel like I can be as rich as Buffett with the simplicity of buying stocks.




I just buy some BRK.B and call it a day.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Same here. BRK.B is my single largest stock holding.

hboy: you're right that his bond exposure is more exotic than what typical investors do. Junk debt for example acts a lot like stocks, highly correlated. He speculates in distressed debt. Again -- he has enormous advantages here that a small investor would never have. He can talk to management teams and get a sense of what's going on.


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## Oldroe (Sep 18, 2009)

It's well over 25 years since reading Buffet stuff.

And even then I was planning income.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

He's 86.... curious what is gonna be with BRK after he passes away


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

There are many other people already running the show. The stock portfolio that everyone gets so excited about is, AFAIK, managed by a much younger man. You can find details in the annual report of course, and I assume that anyone trying to follow Buffett's path to success is studying these reports in great detail.

By the way, Buffett got rich with some aggressive speculation during an extremely strong bull market many decades ago. The kind of stocks you see in the Berkshire portfolio is not how he got rich.


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## Gwenstacy (Dec 19, 2016)

*Warren Buffett Choices*

Even I would suggest taking in his stock profile for th year of 2017.


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## Gwenstacy (Dec 19, 2016)

*He won't die and kill his portfolio*

Even if he dies, I think his stocks are going to survive the end of the world. 
*General Motors Company*
General Motors has a market cap of $48.3 billion and forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 5.36. The company also provides an annual dividend of 4.88%, or $1.52 per share. Berkshire Hathaway owns 50 million shares of General Motors, valued at $1.55 billion. General Motors makes up just 1.1% of the holdings in Berkshire Hathaway.
*International Business Machines Corp.*
With 81.2 million shares valued at $12.5 billion, IBM makes up one of the largest positions in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio at 9.5%.
*Phillips 66*
hillips 66 has a market cap of $41.4 billion and forward P/E of 14.15. The company provides an annual dividend of 3.19%, or $2.52 per share. Phillips 66 has been raising its annual dividend for the last five years.
With 80.6 million shares ($6.3 billion) Phillips 66 is one of Berkshire Hathaway’s larger holdings at 4.8%.

These stocks are here to stay, even though the Walmart one is doubtful, still.


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## Brad911 (Apr 19, 2009)

I think there is more value in studying WHY Buffett made the decisions he did rather than what he invested in. The difference is as clear as the decision to be proactive vs. reactive. Investing in what he's buying now is reactive because his decisions are influenced by the success of his prior decisions. None of us are in that situation (except us shareholders of BRK) to benefit. I think your time is better served modeling his approach in a new way.


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Buffett got super rich from his purchasing power. Retail investors simply cannot replicate that. $1,000 to me is $100 M to him. He also got lucky on a few stocks. Nobody could have predicted how well they have done for him. 

Overall, a phenomenal success story. Hard to imagine we'll see anything like it again.


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## Gwenstacy (Dec 19, 2016)

has anyone read his biography?? How is it if anyone has?


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## mark0f0 (Oct 1, 2016)

The problem with Buffett is that he's heavily into financials and insurers which will suffer in a rising long-term interest rate environment. What was once a great tailwind for the company, will turn into what will seem like a perpetual headwind.

Modern discount brokerages allow "Joe Schmoes" to buy stock with $1 commissions. So I don't really understand the 'buying power' argument. 

One thing to keep in mind is that there's basically very few billionaires these days that derive their wealth from earlier than 50 or so years ago. So outsized wealth is rarely forever and is almost always derived through sectoral concentration.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

My Own Advisor said:


> Buffett got super rich from his purchasing power. Retail investors simply cannot replicate that. $1,000 to me is $100 M to him. He also got lucky on a few stocks. Nobody could have predicted how well they have done for him.


Not so sure about that. What he has, and has had, is access to managements of the companies he looks at. If he likes the fundamentals and the management team has the focus and the business plan WB likes, he buys them. The retail investor and our 'run of the mill' BNN money manager can't aggregate those two things like WB can. He has had his share of 'failures' that were mostly curve balls thrown at him by random world events...just like we guess on where business fundamentals are going.


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## mordko (Jan 23, 2016)

Don't think WB got "lucky". Several investors from the same school did spectacularly well, e.g. Munger (before joining Berkshire). He certainly does have advantage as far as access to management is concerned. Also his ability to buy private ventures.


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## Gwenstacy (Dec 19, 2016)

But luck does play a good factor in the success. I believe it is 80% hard work and 20%luck.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

mark0f0 said:


> Modern discount brokerages allow "Joe Schmoes" to buy stock with $1 commissions. So I don't really understand the 'buying power' argument.


The buying power argument comes to play when you consider that BH can buy out public companies and make them private, or can buy out privately held companies. This is not something Joe Average can do with a discount brokarage account.


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## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

sags said:


> Unless an investor bought shares in the dividend companies at the same time the Buffet did, there is no hope to come close to the "returns" he receives.
> 
> Coca Cola pays about a 3.4 % dividend.


His last 10 years compounded return is 8.33 %. Anyone can do that.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Pluto said:


> His last 10 years compounded return is 8.33 %. Anyone can do that.


Let's say a lot of investors can do that, but not if they are burdened with high costs and not if they are overly conservative.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

To get the "return" for BRK would you not also have to include the hundreds of billions in cash the fund has generated for the past 10 years ?

It has either been reinvested, spent to buy back shares, spent to improve privately owned businesses, or sits on BRK's balance sheet.


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