Podcast: 5 Surprising Investing Moves Buffett Made As Stocks Fell

As everyone knows, the end of 2018 was rough on stock investors. It was the largest sell-off in over five years.

But that also means it brought a buying opportunity for those who had the guts to jump in and buy their favorite names on sale.

But what about the most famous value investor of them all? Was Warren Buffett buying stocks in his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) portfolio in the fourth quarter?

The 13-Fs are in, and there are some surprising results in Berkshire's filing.

First Surprise: Selling Some Apple Shares

Warren Buffett has had a love affair with Apple Inc. AAPL for the past few quarters. It's now the largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio. But why did he sell some in the fourth quarter?

Second Surprise: Buying A BRIC Stock

U.S. stocks weren't the only ones to sell off in 2018. The BRIC stock markets were weak too and that sent many foreign companies that traded on the American exchanges lower as well.

Brazil's StoneCo Ldt STNE fell 46 percent while China's YY Inc YY was trading with a forward P/E under 8 by the end of 2018.

Did Berkshire Hathaway finally dive into some of the cheap BRIC social media and technology stocks?

Third Surprise: Buying More Banks?

Buffett has always been a big buyer of the financials. Going into the fourth quarter, Berkshire Hathaway already owned shares in seven of the ten largest U.S. banks.

Bank of America Corp BAC is his largest banking position, as it makes up 12 percent of Berkshire's portfolio. Did he add more? Did he buy any new financials?

Fourth Surprise: The Beaten Down Big Caps

General Motors Company GM has been dirt cheap for over a year and General Electric Company GE has sunk to multi-decade lows, but both have been featured on prior podcasts as value traps given that their earnings were on the decline. Did Berkshire jump in on either of these cheap big caps?

Fifth Surprise: Were Energy Stocks A Bargain?

With crude's sharp plunge in the fourth quarter, many of the energy stocks lost 50 percent or more. Energy insiders bought shares in droves as their stocks plunged. Usually, that's a sign they thought the selling was overdone. Did Warren Buffett and Berkshire follow suit?

Related Links:

What Are The Trends In 13Fs Showing Us?

Q4 13F Roundup: How Buffett, Einhorn, Ackman And Others Adjusted Their Portfolios