Gardner Russo & Gardner Betting on Beer, Cigarettes, and the Credit Needed to Buy Them

#3 Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

 – Shares Owned by Gardner Russo & Gardner (as of March 31): 10.51 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $1.03 Billion

Gardner Russo has held a stake in the New York-based cigarette company since the first quarter of 2008 and added about 54,100 shares to the holding in the January-to-March period. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)’s stock has gained a solid 14.8% this year, even though the company fell short of first quarter earnings expectations. Philip Morris has received an array of upgrades recently, including from Exane BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Societe Generale, as the company continues to combat sales declines through price increases. Harris Associates initiated a stake in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) during the first three months of this year, consisting of about 3.76 million shares.

#2 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)

 – Shares Owned by Gardner Russo & Gardner (as of March 31): 5,013

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $1.07 Billion

Warren Buffett’s holding company is another one of Gardner Russo & Gardner’s long-term holdings and was initiated in the first quarter of 2001. As a number of utility companies continue to transform their operations towards renewable energy, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s MidAmerican Energy recently announced its own initiative along the same lines in the form of an investment of $3.6 billion in wind energy by 2020, which amounts to one of the largest wind energy investments ever made. Although up by over 7.2% this year, shares of Berkshire Hathaway are down by 4.8% over the past 12 months. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which is managed by Michael Larson, held 63.38 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) at the end of March.

#1 Nestle SA (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NSRGY)

 – Shares Owned by Gardner Russo & Gardner (as of March 31): 15.82 Million

 – Value of Holding (as of March 31): $1.07 Billion

Gardner Russo & Gardner’s holding in the Switzerland-based consumer staples giant received a modest trimming amounting to about 53,000 shares during the first quarter. Nestle SA (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NSRGY)’s recently reported quarterly financial results showed impressive sales growth of 3.9% on the back of an improvement in product volumes, beating analysts’ expectations. Moreover, following the recall and subsequent destruction of 400 million packets of Maggi noodles in India last year over fears that they contained harmful levels of lead, the ban on the product, which had market share of 80% in the country, has since been lifted, which has resulted in it gaining back significant ground in the first quarter. Ed Beddow and William Tichy’s Beddow Capital Management held about 155,700 shares of Nestle SA (ADR) (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) at the end of last year.

Disclosure: None