Market veteran Warren Buffett, famous for his value investing, is indirectly invested in high-dividend yield stocks via Berkshire Hathaway Inc.‘s (NYSE:BRA) (NYSE:BRK) subsidiary New England Asset Management.
What Happened: In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re Corp., which in turn owned New England Asset Management (NEAM).
Therefore, NEAM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. While Buffett doesn’t directly oversee NEAM’s investment decisions, the portfolio managed by NEAM is considered part of Berkshire Hathaway’s overall holdings.
Thus, according to its 13F filings, NEAM holds at least nine stocks that have a dividend yield ranging from 5% to 10.5%.
While most of these nine stocks constitute less than 1% of NEAM’s 122 holdings as of the end of the first quarter of 2025, only Kraft Heinz Co. is common between Berkshire and NEAM’s portfolio.
| Company | Value (as of March 31) | % Of Holdings (as of March 31) | Number Of Shares | Change From Dec. 31, 2024 (in %) |
| Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ:KHC) | $2.215 million | 0.40% | 72,810 | 1% |
| Golub Capital BDC Inc. (NASDAQ:GBDC) | $3.525 million | 0.60% | 232,876 | 0% |
| Ares Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:ARCC) | $5.005 million | 0.80% | 225,900 | 0% |
| Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) | $3.939 million | 0.60% | 155,448 | 1% |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) | $2.407 million | 0.40% | 39,476 | 1% |
| Campbell’s Co. (NASDAQ:CPB) | $2.582 million | 0.40% | 64,690 | 1% |
| Realty Income Corp. (NYSE:O) | $3.198 million | 0.50% | 55,140 | NEW |
| Lamar Advertising Co. (NASDAQ:LAMR) | $6.577 million | 1.10% | 57,805 | 1% |
| Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) | $8.926 million | 1.40% | 196,795 | 9% |
Meanwhile, these stocks have not performed well on a year-to-date basis, but their high dividend yields are what make them lucrative, as per Benzinga Pro data.
These yields are considered high when compared to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s 1.2% dividend yield as of March 21, highlights Benzinga.
| Company | Dividend Yield | YTD Performance | One Year Performance |
| Kraft Heinz Co. | 6.10% | -14.10% | -17.23% |
| Golub Capital BDC Inc. | 10.50% | -2.75% | -5.29% |
| Ares Capital Corp. | 8.60% | 0.95% | 6.46% |
| Pfizer Inc. | 6.70% | -3.72% | -7.58% |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. | 5.30% | -17.17% | 15.12% |
| Campbell’s Co. | 5.00% | -26.15% | -31.60% |
| Realty Income Corp. | 5.60% | 9.30% | 8.97% |
| Lamar Advertising Co. | 5.00% | 2.12% | 4.26% |
| Verizon Communications Inc. | 6.30% | 7.09% | 4.26% |
Why It Matters: Investors keenly follow the trades of the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ – Buffett, for a deeper insight into his expertise.
His direct and indirect investments through Berkshire or other subsidiaries or holding companies influence the decisions of several investors.
Berkshire’s top holdings as of the first quarter 13F filings include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP), Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX).
Price Action: The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose slightly in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was up 0.011% at $620.41, while the QQQ advanced 0.049% to $552.61, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Read Next:
Photo courtesy: mark reinstein / Shutterstock.com
