Berkshire Hathaway, the Warren Buffett-run holding company and conglomerate, took a $620 million stake in insurance and reinsurance provider Markel Corporation as part of a raft of investments during the first quarter of 2022.
Analysts at KBW estimate that the value of Berkshire’s equity portfolio has fallen by about $39.0 billion pretax over the quarter, reflecting a broader market sell-off, and implying a $21.4 billion (4.2%) decline in its Q1 2022 book value per share.
But the company did still make a number of notable new investments over the period, with the investment into Markel particularly noteworthy due to its business similarities with Alleghany, which Berkshire is currently in the process of acquiring for $11.6 billion.
Markel, like Alleghany, is often likened to a mini-Berkshire Hathaway because it writes insurance, but also invests across multiple other business categories.
The investment into Markel then, even as the comglomerate looks to downsize its books, could suggest that Buffett has an appetite to add more complementary insurance businesses under his umbrella.
Other significant investments for Berkshire in Q1 included a $4.2 billion increase to its stake in Activision Blizzard, a $21.4 billion increase in Chevron, and a $277 million increase in Floor & Decor Holdings, compared with the fourth quarter of 2022.
Additionally, Berkshire acquired 136 million new shares worth $7.7 billion in US fossil fuel firm Occidental Petroleum Corporation, with an additional 5.9 million shares also already purchased in Q2.
The largest stock sales for Berkshire in Q1 included an $8.0 billion sale of its Verizon holding, $492 million of Abbvie, $380 million of Bristol-Myers Squibb, $282 million of STORE Capital and $279 million of Royalty Pharma.
