Beverage giant Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) has been a staple to the investment portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) for years. With Warren Buffett stepping down as chairman of the conglomerate, here’s a look back at how much the value of the beverage giant has risen since Buffett first starting buying.
Here’s a look back at the firm’s very first purchase and how investors would have done had they invested in Coca-Cola stock when Buffett did. Buying Coca-Cola Stock Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio includes holdings in top public companies such as Coca-Cola, Apple Inc, American Express and more.
It also owns many well-known companies, including Dairy Queen, Duracell, GEICO and Fruit of the Loom. In 1988, Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway made a splash by buying shares of Coca-Cola.
81. In an annual letter that year, Buffett, who is said to drink five cans of Coke or Cherry Coke daily, addressed the purchase of Coca-Cola shares.
“In 1988, we made major purchases of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Pfd and Coca-Cola. We expect to hold these securities for a long time,” Buffett said.
” Berkshire Hathaway would continue to add to its Coca-Cola position over the following years and see its share count blossom from several stock splits. The firm now owns 400 million Coca-Cola shares, making up around 11% of its portfolio.
Berkshire Hathaway owns over 9% of Coca-Cola’s shares. The position has remained unchanged for years, including the most recently reported second quarter holdings.
Read Also: If You Invested $1,000 In Berkshire Hathaway Stock When Warren Buffett First Did, Here's How Much You'd Have Today Investing $1,000 in Coca-Cola Buffett’s big bet in 1988 marked one of the investor’s largest bets on a public company. If a person had invested at the same price and time Berkshire Hathaway had purchased its shares, that investor would have been pleasantly rewarded today.
92 shares of Coca-Cola. Shares of Coca-Cola split 2-for-1 in 1990, 1992, 1996 and 2012.
72 shares. 20 at the time of writing, and not including dividends.
6% over the last 38 years. Not every investment Buffett makes is a winner.
Still, the legendary investor proves that many of Berkshire Hathaway’s top holdings enjoy a nice return on investment when held for many years. Read Also: Warren Buffett Says You Don't Need 20 Right Calls To Get Rich — '4 Or 5 Will Probably Do It' This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.
