Berkshire Hathaway‘s 13F filings are some of the most expected filings due to Warren Buffett‘s impressive stock picking skills. Berkshire has released its filing for the third quarter earlier this evening, reporting an equity portfolio worth $107.8 billion, up from $107.6 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The equity portfolio has not been changed much, but it did reveal two new positions: Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK) and Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX). Moreover, the fund has closed a long-term holding in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE).
In Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK), Berkshire reported ownership of 8.0 million class C shares. The stake is valued at $375.9 million. However, Berkshire probably did not acquire the shares, but received them in the connection with the company distribution of class C stock as dividend earlier in July. Berkshire has been owning class A shares of Liberty Media since the first quarter of 2013 and at the end of September it held 4.0 million shares of class A common stock. The class C stock of Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK) has performed well since it began trading at the end of July, but a couple of days ago it slumped from above $48 per share to around $35 and in this way it currently trades 21% down since July.
David E. Shaw‘s D.E. Shaw is another shareholder of Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ:LMCK), owning 8.99 million class C shares as of the end of September. D.E. Shaw also holds 5.62 million shares of class A stock of the company.
Berkshire’s stake in Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX) presents more interest. The equity portfolio of the firm contains 449,500 shares of the company, which are valued at $31.75 million, which is one of the cheapest holdings of Berkshire Hathaway. Express Scripts is a $57 billion pharmacy prescriptions management company, one of the largest in the industry, with revenues of $25.78 billion for the third quarter, down from $25.92 billion a year ago.
The company also reported earnings per share of $0.78, up from $0.54 for the third quarter of last year. The company has also narrowed its EPS guidance for 2014, to between $4.86 and $4.90 from $4.84 and $4.92 stated earlier. The new guidance still expects a growth in the range of 24% to 27% on the year. The stock of Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX) appreciated by almost 11% since the beginning of the year, below the health care plans industry average of 24%.
On the back of solid financial results, analysts are bullish on Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX). The stock has a consensus ‘Buy’ rating and an average target price of $80 per share. Another shareholder of the company is Jeffrey Tannenbaum‘s Fir Tree, which owns 3.71 million shares as of the end of September, down by 990,000 shares on the quarter.
Berkshire closed its position in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), after previously holding 3.98 million shares for several years. The stock of Deere has lost around 4% since the beginning of the year, and returned around 7% over the last 52 weeks, outperforming the farm & construction equipment industry average. The company’s revenue and earnings have slumped this year, which was caused by a slowdown in the farm economy. So, in this way, Berkshire has exited a position that might lose value over the next quarter and still managed to pick some good profits out of the investment.
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