3 Top Stocks That Warren Buffett Bought During The Recent Quarter

Warren Buffett is one of the most trusted investors on the market. When he moves his big money, the whole street is watching and tries to figure out what he is thinking about.

The latest big move was reasonable to Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil producer. Warren bought ConocoPhillips on the peak of the oil price and was wrong with his investment decision. Now it looks that he gives his oil bet a second chance with the strongest cash flow producer in this field.

At the same time Warren Buffett reduced its current position in ConocoPhillips but keeps the downstream business Philips 66 stable. I have no idea what he is thinking about with this transaction. 

In addition, Warren increased shares of DaVita Healthcare Partners and Goldman Sachs. Here you can find a detailed overview about the latest big stock purchases from Warren Buffett.

Warren Buffett's latest stock purchases (click to enlarge)
Source: Gurufocus.com

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has a market capitalization of $415.45 billion. The company employs 76,900 people, generates revenue of $453.123 billion and has a net income of $47.681 billion. Exxon Mobil’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $65.769 billion. The EBITDA margin is 14.51 percent (the operating margin is 11.01 percent and the net profit margin 10.52 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 3.47 percent of Exxon Mobil’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 6.98 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 28.03 percent was realized by Exxon Mobil. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $7.65. Last fiscal year, Exxon Mobil paid $2.18 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 12.43, the P/S ratio is 0.92 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.58. The dividend yield amounts to 2.65 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 0.69.

Long-Term Stock Price Chart Of Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Exxon Mobil (XOM)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has a market capitalization of $76.86 billion. The company employs 31,700 people, generates revenue of $41.664 billion and has a net income of $7.475 billion. Goldman Sachs’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $12.462 billion. The EBITDA margin is 29.91 percent (the operating margin is 26.90 percent and the net profit margin 17.94 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 47.24 percent of Goldman Sachs’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 585.58 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 10.66 percent was realized by Goldman Sachs. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $16.47. Last fiscal year, Goldman Sachs paid $1.77 in the form of dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 10.29, the P/S ratio is 1.84 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.13. The dividend yield amounts to 1.30 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 1.30.

Long-Term Stock Price Chart Of Goldman Sachs (GS)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of Goldman Sachs (GS)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of Goldman Sachs (GS)

DaVita HealthCare Partners (NYSE:DVA) has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion. The company employs 53,400 people, generates revenue of $8.186 billion and has a net income of $641.46 million. DaVita HealthCare Partners’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $1,710.45 million. The EBITDA margin is 20.89 percent (the operating margin is 15.84 percent and the net profit margin 7.84 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 53.45 percent of DaVita HealthCare Partners’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 227.32 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 18.16 percent was realized by DaVita HealthCare Partners. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.66. Last fiscal year, DaVita HealthCare Partners paid no dividends to shareholders.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 23.18, the P/S ratio is 1.60 and the P/B ratio is finally 3.45. The beta ratio has a value of 0.49.

Long-Term Stock Price Chart Of DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA)

Long-Term Dividend Payment History of DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA)

Long-Term Dividend Yield History of DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA)

Warren Buffett's Latest Stock Portfolio

Warren Buffett's latest stock purchases (click to enlarge)
Source: Streetinsider.com

Warren Buffett's latest stock purchases (click to enlarge)
Source: Gurufocus.com

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5 Banks Warren Buffett is Betting on for 2014

By our guest contributor Insider Monkey. As we begin to ponder what sectors will rule the markets in 2014, technology, healthcare and industrials are areas that many pundits point to. If you ask Warren Buffett, though, he’ll provide a decidedly different answer.

On CNBC earlier this week, Buffett gave a ringing endorsement to large-cap banks, revealing that he thinks they’re “in best shape [he] can remember.” While anyone who tracks Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio probably had a hunch Buffett is upbeat on banks—over 40% of his holdings are invested in the financial sector—these new comments indicate we should expect his bullishness to continue into next year.

By focusing on the best picks of the best hedge funds and other elite investors, it’s possible for retail investors to beat the market over the long-term (discover the data behind this phenomenon). Buffett is the cream of the crop and in light of his recent comments, we should take note of how he’s playing the banks.

Wells Fargo [WFC] is unequivocally the billionaire’s biggest banking bet, and his largest equity holding at that. The global giant is lauded for its management practices and simple business model, and its connection to Buffett has helped it land financing and advisory roles in multiple Berkshire acquisitions.

While shares of Wells Fargo are up nearly 25% year-to-date and the bank did beat Wall Street’s third quarter earnings estimates, its home lending business has been hurt by falling mortgage applications. Still, Wells’ long-term growth prospects and scale advantages remain intact, and Buffett has to love its price at a mere 10.6 times forward EPS. Don’t ignore the 2.8% dividend yield either; it's the best payout among the ‘Big Four.’

US Bancorp [USB] is Buffett’s No. 2 bank holding. Due to its attractive valuation, solid dividend yield, and strong growth prospects, many analysts know this regional player as a mini-Wells Fargo. In fact, US Bancorp is the only big bank that generates higher ROE and ROA figures than Buffett’s top pick.

His investment in Goldman Sachs [GS], meanwhile, now represents a major portion of Berkshire’s stock holdings. We discussed the intricacies of Buffett’s new $2 billion investment in Goldman here on MarketWatch last week, but all you need to know is that he doesn’t plan to close it any time soon.

The investment banking and brokerage firm has sentimental value for the billionaire, and it pays just 12% of its earnings out as dividends. Like Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, Goldman’s growth prospects are extremely cheap at current prices, and the multifaceted nature of its business gives Buffett exposure to an area of the financial sector that his other bank stocks don’t.

M&T Bank [MTB] and Bank of New York Mellon [BK] are a couple more Buffett favorites, and both are actually the final two bank stocks held in the top 20 of Berkshire’s equity portfolio. M&T Bank has been a staple in Buffett’s holdings for more than two decades, and it’s the only large U.S. bank that didn’t trim dividend payments during the financial crisis. The bank’s quarterly profit streak of nearly 40 years is legendary, and it’s no secret that Buffett is a fan of M&T CEO Robert Wilmers.

BNY Mellon, lastly, has been in Buffett and Berkshire’s good graces since the third quarter of 2010, and the stake was increased by 30% in their last 13F filing. The trust bank can see its bottom line improve if interest rates increase in the future. Uncertainty surrounding the fate of borrowing costs over the long-term is one reason why BNY Mellon could be considered undervalued.

Disclosure: none

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Ex-Dividend Stocks: Best Dividend Paying Shares On October 24, 2013

The best yielding and biggest ex-dividend stocks researched by ”long-term-investments.blogspot.com”. Dividend Investors should have a quiet overview of stocks with upcoming ex dividend dates.

The ex dividend date is the final date on which the new stock buyer couldn’t receive the next dividend. If you like to receive the dividend, you need to buy the stock before the ex dividend date. I made a little screen of the best yielding stocks with a higher capitalization that have their ex date on the next trading day.

In total, 17 stocks go ex dividend - of which 5 yield more than 3 percent. Here is a full list of all stocks with ex-dividend date within the current week.

Here is the sheet of the best yielding, higher capitalized ex-dividend stocks:

Company	Ticker	Mcap	P/E	P/B	P/S	Yield
Value Line	VALU	90.33M	14.31	2.76	2.52	6.55%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior	BLX	1.02B	13.21	1.21	5.30	4.50%
Dominion Resources, Inc.	D	37.20B	114.91	3.38	2.84	3.50%
The Blackstone Group	BX	16.66B	26.66	3.01	3.25	3.22%
Rockville Financial Inc.	RCKB	343.83M	21.41	1.16	4.43	3.06%
OceanFirst Financial Corp.	OCFC	307.72M	16.97	1.42	3.71	2.67%
Pacific Continental Corp.	PCBK	249.85M	19.42	1.40	4.38	2.58%
A. Schulman, Inc.	SHLM	943.10M	21.03	1.81	0.44	2.42%
Dell	DELL	24.33B	18.22	2.25	0.43	2.31%
The Bank of New York Mellon	BK	36.29B	17.26	1.03	10.84	1.90%
Unum Group	UNM	8.42B	9.63	1.00	0.80	1.83%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	GS	73.80B	9.67	1.04	1.77	1.26%
Barnes Group Inc.	B	2.05B	28.04	2.10	1.76	1.15%
CoBiz Financial Inc	COBZ	436.52M	17.85	1.64	4.16	1.08%
Agilent Technologies Inc.	A	17.30B	19.04	3.61	2.53	0.94%
Citigroup, Inc.	C	154.02B	4.35	0.79	1.76	0.08%

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30 Top Stocks With Dividend Growth From Last Week

Stocks with dividend hikes from last week originally published at long-term-investments.blogspot.com. 30 companies announced a dividend hike within the recent week. Only six of them are large capitalized stocks and five are really cheap in terms of a low forward P/E.

It’s in line with our recognition of rising stock market multiples. Real cheap stocks are very rare. The most dangerous item are growth expectations. Growth let earnings multiples grow but you need low multiples with a solid growing business to make a good return.

The biggest results are Itau Unibanco, Goldman Sachs and Abbott Laboratories as well.

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Ex-Dividend Stocks: Best Dividend Paying Shares On May 28, 2013

The best yielding and biggest ex-dividend stocks researched by ”long-term-investments.blogspot.com”. Dividend Investors should have a quiet overview of stocks with upcoming ex dividend dates.

The ex dividend date is the final date on which the new stock buyer couldn’t receive the next dividend. If you like to receive the dividend, you need to buy the stock before the ex dividend date. I made a little screen of the best yielding stocks with a higher capitalization that have their ex date on the next trading day.

A full list of all stocks with payment dates can be found here: Ex-Dividend Stocks May 28, 2013. In total, 11 stocks and preferred shares go ex dividend - of which 63 yield more than 3 percent. The average yield amounts to 2.39%.

Here is the sheet of the best yielding, higher capitalized ex-dividend stocks:

Company	Ticker	Mcap	P/E	P/B	P/S	Yield
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation	SIX	3.71B	11.14	8.92	3.40	4.63%
CNOOC Ltd.	CEO	79.93B	7.73	1.58	1.98	4.14%
Great Plains Energy	GXP	3.57B	14.99	1.06	1.50	3.75%
United-Guardian Inc.	UG	121.92M	23.67	8.47	8.78	3.32%
Cott Corporation	COT	811.60M	19.34	1.37	0.36	2.82%
Etablissements Delhaize Freres	DEG	6.60B	40.70	0.97	0.22	2.09%
Harley-Davidson, Inc.	HOG	12.43B	18.73	4.72	2.17	1.52%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	GS	72.77B	10.92	0.95	1.75	1.26%
Lender Processing Services, Inc.	LPS	2.80B	33.32	4.71	1.43	1.21%
Expedia Inc.	EXPE	7.98B	47.61	3.70	1.89	0.88%
La-Z-Boy Inc.	LZB	993.60M	21.33	2.11	0.76	0.84%

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