Warren Buffett, The Dividend Investor?

Some of my fellow dividend investors have accused Warren Buffett of being a closet dividend investor. I won't quite go that far, but there is significant common ground between dividend and value investors. With that said, let's take a close look at Mr. Buffett's most recent 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Comparing Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) December 31, 2008 13-F with its March 31, 2009 13-F, I made the following observations for Q1/2009:

• BRK didn't add any new positions to its portfolio


• BRK didn't fully liquidate any positions in its portfolio


• BRK added shares in seven stocks: BNSF Railway (BNI), Union Pacific (UNP), Wells Fargo (WFC), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Nalco Holding Company (NLC)


• BRK reduced shares in four stocks: CarMax (KMX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Constellation Energy Group, Inc. (CEG)
  

Of the stocks held in BRK's 13-F portfolio, the following ones are either held in my income portfolio or are on my watch list of dividend stocks:

Coca Cola (KO) - Yield 3.34% - Analysis
The Coca-Cola Company is the largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Yield 3.55% - Analysis
Johnson & Johnson is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of a range of products in the healthcare field.

Kraft Foods (KFT) - Yield 4.44% - Analysis
Kraft is engaged in manufacturing and marketing packaged food products, including snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and various packaged grocery products.

Lowes Companies (LOW) - Yield 1.89% - Analysis
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a home improvement retailer.

M&T Bank (MTB) - Yield 5.57%
M&T Bank Corporation is a bank holding company. As of December 31, 2008, the Company had two wholly owned bank subsidiaries.

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) - Yield 3.39% - Analysis
The Procter & Gamble Company is focused on providing branded consumer goods.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) - Yield 2.19% - Analysis
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide.

In addition, Buffett continues to hold a position in several stocks that I sold over the last twelve months for either cutting or failing to raise their dividend. Those are:

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) - Yield 0.35%
Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) is a bank holding company and a financial holding company.

General Electric (GE) - Yield 9.20%
General Electric Company is a diversified technology, media and financial services company.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) - Yield 3.89%
The Home Depot, Inc.is a home improvement retailer selling an assortment of building materials, home improvement and lawn and garden products, and provide a number of services.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (STI) - Yield 3.04%
SunTrust Banks, Inc. is a diversified financial services holding company whose businesses provide a range of financial services to consumer and corporate clients.

U.S. Bancorp (USB) - Yield 1.04%
U.S. Bancorp operates as a financial holding company and a bank holding company. U.S. Bancorp provides a range of financial services, including lending and depository services, cash management, foreign exchange, and trust and investment management services.

It is not surprising that the most famous value investor holds several dividend stocks. Historically, stocks that pay dividends have out-performed those that don’t. When you buy dividend stocks at a discount, it’s like turbo-charging your return!

Full Disclosure: Long in JNJ, KO, MTB, PG, WMT . See a list of all my income holdings here.


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