Warren Buffett’s mysterious investments are Verizon and Chevron

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Berkshire Hathaway by Warren Buffett

has revealed significant holdings in

Chevron

i

Verizon Communications

at the end of 2020, after he was allowed to keep those holdings undisclosed.

Berkshire (ticker: BRK.B) owned 146.7 million shares of Verizon (VZ) worth $ 8.6 billion by the end of 2020 and 48.5 million shares of Chevron (CVX) worth $ 4.1 billion , according to a regulatory dossier this Tuesday.

Verizon’s stake has risen sharply since the end of the third quarter, when Berkshire owned $ 58.4 million worth of Verizon shares worth $ 3.4 billion. Chevron’s share rose more modestly in the fourth quarter, from 44.3 million at the end of the third quarter. These were revealed in a 13-F presentation for the end of the third quarter and a modified 13-F for the end of the third quarter.

Verizon and Chevron’s purchases were probably orchestrated by Buffett, the CEO, who oversees the company’s huge equity portfolio.

Berkshire requested and received confidentiality from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for Chevron and Verizon holdings at the end of the third quarter, presumably because it continued to build positions in those shares in the fourth quarter and did not want public disclosure to means -November to interrupt its accumulation of both actions.

Berkshire also gained confidentiality at the end of the third quarter for a $ 386 million stake

Marsh and McLennan

(MMC) which grew to $ 499 million at the end of the fourth quarter.

Disclosures solve the mystery of Berkshire’s confidential purchases that sparked speculation about what shares Buffett was buying. Many investors assumed that this was a single share, not two major purchases.

De Barron he wrote earlier Tuesday that the mystery he had was probably a commercial or industrial company based on Berkshire statements and that Chevron was a possibility.

Chevron rose about 2% in off-hours trading, to $ 95, according to news of Berkshire’s stake; shares ended Tuesday’s regular session at $ 93.13. Verizon was up nearly 3% higher after hours, to $ 55.70, after finishing at $ 54.15.

Both purchases fit Buffett’s value orientation. Verizon has a low valuation deal for about ten times the estimated profits of 2021 and gets a return of 4.6%. In recent years, it has followed the S&P 500 and fell 7% last year, while the index has risen 16%.

Chevron has regained its lows from last spring as the price of oil has recovered, but continues to fall 17% over the past year. The company is considered to be the strongest of the world’s largest energy companies, with a better balance sheet than its rival

Exxon Mobil

(XOM) and major European rivals such as

Royal Dutch Shell

(RDS.A). Chevron’s dividend yield is 5.6% and this payment is considered increasingly secure with rising oil prices.

Berkshire also reduced its stake

apple

(AAPL) to 887.2 million shares, according to Tuesday’s filing.

Write to Andrew Bary to [email protected]