- Berkshire Hathaway’s latest financial disclosures, eagerly awaited by investors and Warren Buffett stans, show moves in bank stocks, energy, and food and beverage companies. Some are believed to be investment choices made by Buffett himself, while other changes are often attributed to deputies who invest relatively smaller stakes.
The future might be lit. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, known for its investments in stocks that generate stable, reasonable returns, has boosted its stakes in companies such as Domino’s Pizza, Pool Corp., and Constellation Brands, which produces alcoholic beverages. So, a pool party in the backyard with hot pizza and cold beers? Check.
A comparison of the past two quarterly reports disclosing Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings showed that some of the smaller stakes in the portfolio underwent some notable changes in recent months. Pool Corp., which previously saw a boost during the pandemic when people wanted to swim in their backyards, saw the value of its position increase from about $152 million to $204 million. Similarly, the value of the Domino’s Pizza stake increased from about $549 million to $1 billion, while Berkshire initiated a significant stake valued at about $1.2 billion in Constellation Brands, maker of Modelo, Pacifico, and Corona.
The filings don’t indicate which portfolio manager invested what stock, but two scholars of Buffett’s investment style said the pizza and beer choices were likely made by either Todd Combs or Ted Weschler. Combs is an investment officer at Berkshire Hathaway and the CEO of Geico, while Weschler is an investment manager at Berkshire. “Todd and Ted” oversee relatively smaller investment portfolios and Buffett has granted both autonomy.
Market observers have fixed a gimlet eye on Berkshire’s portfolio holdings even more so lately because Berkshire is sitting on a pile of cash valued at more than $300 billion. In this latest round, Berkshire held its $75 billion stake in Apple and trimmed its stakes in Bank of America, Citigroup, and Capital One Financial.
As for pools, Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, noted that a lot of the population has moved south as finance and tech companies have expanded their footprints in the region.
“There are a lot of swimming pools in Texas and Florida,” he told Fortune, adding that the investments look like they were executed by Combs and Weschler.
Darren Pollock, a portfolio manager at Cheviot Value Management, said Domino’s Pizza has been a solid growth business, even though it’s not under the radar by any means. In addition, the stock previously tumbled after the company announced fewer store openings, but it has since recovered. It represents a steady growth opportunity and seems to be a “pretty reasonable investment,” he said.
The size of the Constellation Brands stake, $1.2 billion, indicates it might be Buffett himself making the investment, explained Pollock. It’s another steady growth business despite headwinds from legalized marijuana and hard seltzers, he said. However, Constellation Brands has a portfolio of well-known names like Corona, Modelo, Meiomi, and Kim Crawford, which often appeals to Buffett, he said.
The value investor’s famed annual letter to shareholders is due later this month, and investors are likely to scour it for information about its recent investments.
‘Men lie and women wear makeup’
In addition to the other moves, Berkshire sold off its entire stake in retailer Ulta Beauty. Smead said the old adage goes, “Men are visual and women are verbal and that’s why men lie and women wear makeup.” Smead’s firm is holding Ulta because young teens are heavily interested in social media—and makeup is a big part of the phenomenon. Secondly, malls are the social center for teens and tweens again, which is where they go to take pictures to add to their social media profiles.
“That’s where they go to see other teens, and it’s also where they go to take a picture they can put up on social media,” said Smead “And, again, makeup is connected to that.”
Smead’s estimation was that Combs and Weschler likely decided there was another stock they wanted to invest in more than Ulta.
