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Warren Buffett-led conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway NYSE: BRK-B has a portfolio of about 45 different common stocks, and its holdings change regularly. In fact, I just wrote an article about several new buys and sells Berkshire made during the fourth quarter of Despite this, Berkshire's largest stock investments haven't changed in some time. Here's a rundown of Berkshire's five largest stock holdings, and why Buffett loves them so much.

Buffett's massive stake in Kraft Heinz NASDAQ: In a nutshell, Buffett loves competitive advantages, and the economies of scale that come along with combining two massive food companies is right up Buffett's alley.

1 Warren Buffett Quote that Shows Why Berkshire Hathaway Could Have a Problem -- The Motley Fool

WFC has been a Warren Buffett favorite for some time now, and even after the banks infamous "fake accounts" scandal last year, Buffett hasn't sold a single share. During a November interview, Buffett called the bank an "incredible institution," and it's easy to understand why. Simply put, Wells Fargo has higher-quality assets than its competition, and has consistently run a more efficient and profitable operation than the rest of the "big four" U.

Also, even after the scandal and the ensuing penalties, Wells Fargo is still the least-fined of the big four, by a wide margin.

5 New Warren Buffett Quotes That Can Help You Invest Better -- The Motley Fool

KO is perhaps the most well-known Warren Buffett stock. Buffett has famously said that a "ham sandwich" could run Coca-Cola, meaning that the company is so efficient and well-organized that it doesn't matter who's sitting at the CEO desk -- one of the main reasons Buffett started buying Coca-Cola in and has never sold a single share. Coca-Cola is a glowing example of the competitive advantages Buffett loves to see in his investments. The company has 20 different billion-dollar brands, and its flagship Coca-Cola brand name is one of the most recognizable in the world, which gives the company pricing power over rivals.

Additionally, Coca-Cola's distribution network is one of the largest and most efficient in the world, resulting in cost advantages. To sum up why Warren Buffett loves Coca-Cola so much as amazon mechanical turk good way to make money investment, consider this Buffett quote: Warren Buffett has been building Berkshire's position in International Business Machines NYSE: IBMbetter known as IBM, since The investment initially came as quite a surprise to many Buffett iamfx forex, as he had generally avoided the tech sector up until that point.

As indikator forex gila colleague Tim Green explained last year, IBM's "stickiness" in the IT industry is what convinced Buffett to invest in the company. IBM's strategy involves providing integrated hardware, software, and services solutions for its clients, which creates major switching costs for clients.

This advantage has remained, because IBM has done a great job of evolving with the industry, with its major investments in cloud computing, for example. Many analysts have been skeptical about Buffett's warren buffett quote on stock market to stick with his investment in American Express NYSE: AXPespecially after the loss of its Costco partnership and with the emergence of several new disruptive payment technologies.

Buffett has acknowledged that Amex's business model is "under attack" but still likes the company as a long-term investment.

He has repeatedly praised Amex's talented, shareholder-friendly branded stocks ltd. trading as malta stockhouse, and loves the company's strong brand name and its ability to generate tons of cash. American Express also has the competitive advantage of an affluent group of cardholders who are very attractive to merchants, allowing options trading with scottrade company to successfully charge higher payment processing fees than Visa or MasterCard.

The 15 Best Warren Buffett Quotes of All Time, Investing Advice for the Ages - TheStreet

This discussion of Warren Buffett's largest stock holdings wouldn't be complete without mentioning Berkshire's Bank of America NYSE: This technically makes Bank of America Berkshire's third-largest investment, but since the company owns warrants, not common shares yetit's not included in the list.

However, Bank of America is an investment Buffett followers should keep in mind. After all, Buffett has referred to this as an investment Berkshire values highly, and has said that Berkshire is likely to purchase the shares just before the warrants expire -- possibly selling its preferred shares to do so.

Matthew Frankel owns shares of American Express, Bank of America, and Berkshire Hathaway B shares.

The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway B shares. The Motley Fool recommends American Express and Coca-Cola.

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Matt brought his love of teaching and investing to the Fool in in order to help people invest better. Matt specializes in writing about the best opportunities in bank stocks, REITs, and personal finance, but loves any investment at the right price.

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How to Invest Learn How to Invest. Personal Finance Credit Cards Best Credit Cards of Best Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses Best Balance-Transfer Credit Cards Best Travel Credit Cards Best Cash-Back Credit Cards Best No-Annual-Fee Credit Cards Best Small Business Credit Cards. Feb 21, at 8: Bank of America NYSE: Berkshire Hathaway A shares NYSE: Berkshire Hathaway B shares NYSE: The Kraft Heinz Company NASDAQ: Prev 1 2 3 4 Next.

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