Warren Buffett sells his last Walmart shares after 20 years (2024)

FAQs

Warren Buffett sells his last Walmart shares after 20 years? ›

World's third richest person Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway has sold its last Walmart shares, ending a relationship of over 20 years. The world's largest retailer was once among Berkshire's five biggest equity holdings as recently as 2014, valued at over $5 billion.

Stocks Warren Buffett recently sold

Horton (DHI). StoneCo (STNE). Markel (MKL).

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), and Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) are some of Warren Buffett's longest held stocks.

A media representative for Walmart pointed to a 2015 statement from Walton Enterprises that said the Walton family expects to sell shares from time to time in order to help offset possible increases in its ownership percentage due to the company's stock buyback programs, and to help fund charitable contributions.

The company bought back $9.2 billion last year. During the fourth quarter, Berkshire paid around $530,000 per Class A share for most of the repurchases, appreciably below the current price. The Berkshire buybacks remain below the pace of 2021, when the company bought back $27 billion of stock.

Apple Is Buffett's Best Investment. It's Also Now One of His Riskiest.

Apple is the world's most valuable public company and Warren Buffet's largest stock holding.

For this article we scanned Warren Buffett's Q4'2023 portfolio and chose his top 12 stock picks. These were the stocks Buffett had in his portfolio heading into 2024. Some top picks of Berkshire are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX).

Who owns the other 50% of Walmart? ›

It is a publicly traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family. Sam Walton's heirs own over 50 percent of Walmart through both their holding company Walton Enterprises and their individual holdings.

The Walton family is Walmart's largest shareholder, having approximately 50% of Walmart's shares, worth about $190 billion. Some prominent members of the Walton family are Jim Walton, Rob Walton, Alice Walton, and Lukas Walton.

There are about 10,500 Walmart locations across 20 different countries. Jim Walton, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton are the top three individual shareholders of Walmart. Walmart's largest institutional investors include the John T. Walton Estate Trust, Vanguard Group, and BlackRock.

Buffett plans on leaving his kids $2 billion each, the Washington Post reported in 2014. He once said in a letter to shareholders that he recommends that super-wealthy families "leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing."

Buffett has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He founded the Giving Pledge in 2010 with Bill Gates, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortunes.

Buffett, 93, also doubled down on his pledge to donate roughly 99% of his nearly $120 billion fortune to charity, revealing that his children, who share his views on righting wealth inequalities through private philanthropy, will serve as executors of his will.

In conclusion, Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s recent investment in Liberty SiriusXM Group is a strategic addition to Berkshire Hathaway's diverse portfolio. The transaction reflects Buffett's confidence in the company's long-term value and aligns with his investment philosophy.

In addition to Visa, Warren Buffett also enjoys dividends from Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). In its October 2023 investor letter, Lakehouse Capital stated the following regarding Visa Inc. (NYSE:V):

Two famous fund managers have large share positions in Snowflake (SNOW) stock. On the other hand, investors may be concerned about Snowflake's decelerating revenue growth.

At age 11, Buffett made his first stock purchase — three shares of Cities Service preferred at $38 per share. After the stock plunged and then rose to $40, he quickly sold his holdings, only to later see it surge.