Berkshire takes swig of Modelo maker Constellation; cuts BofA, Citigroup

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on Friday disclosed a new investment in alcoholic beverages producer Constellation Brands, and said it has reduced its holdings in four banks, including Citigroup and Bank of America.

In a regulatory filing detailing its U.S.-listed stock holdings as of December 31, Berkshire also disclosed it has stopped selling shares of Apple, which remained its largest common stock investment at $75.1 billion.

The filing nonetheless suggests that Berkshire remains concerned about valuations, after selling $133.2 billion of stock--primarily 490 million Apple shares--between January and September 2024, and letting its cash stake grow to $325.2 billion.

Berkshire owned $1.24 billion of Constellation stock at year end, after purchasing 5.62 million shares in the fourth quarter.

In after-hours trading, Constellation's share price rose 6.7%, reflecting what investors view as Buffett's seal of approval regardless of whether the revered billionaire investor personally did the buying.

Constellation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Its beer brands include Corona and Modelo Especial, which in 2023 surpassed Bud Light as the top-selling beer in the United States, while its wine portfolio include Meiomi, Robert Mondavi and Kim Crawford.

Berkshire also owns a small stake in Diageo, whose brands include Guinness beer, Johnnie Walker Scotch and Smirnoff vodka.

To go with the alcohol, Berkshire also invests in Domino's Pizza, and boosted its stake by 86% in the quarter.

In Friday's filing, Berkshire said it lowered its Citigroup stake 74% to 14.6 million shares, and its Bank of America stake, until recently its second-largest common stock holding, 15% to 680.2 million shares.

Berkshire has reduced its Bank of America stake by one-third since July, when it owned 1.03 billion shares.

It has also unwound a small portion of the 700 million Bank of America shares it bought in 2017, when it redeemed $5 billion of preferred stock acquired six years earlier and used proceeds to exercise warrants at $7.14 per share.

Bank of America shares have since risen more than sixfold.

During the fourth quarter, Berkshire also reduced its stakes in Capital One and Brazilian fintech lender Nu Holdings.

It exited one stock altogether, cosmetics store chain Ulta Beauty, which it owned for less than a year.

Friday's filing does not say which investments are Buffett's and which are from Berkshire portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who typically handle smaller Berkshire investments.

Berkshire also owns dozens of companies including the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance, and its annual report expected on February 22 will include its year-end financial results.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Diane Craft)

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