Buffett Is Selling

Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Warren Buffett has been a seller in the most recent quarter. That's the headline from the quarterly SEC filing revealing Berkshire Hathaway's securities holdings. Buffett reduced his stake in 13 holdings, with four being eliminated from the portfolio altogether.

Sizeable sales
Buffett's most substantial sales were Kraft and Procter & Gamble.

Company	No. Shares Sold Q1 2010	% Share Decrease vs. Q4 2009	Estimated $Sale Proceeds*	Shares Held by Berkshire Hathaway 3/31/10
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT)	31.5 million	23%	$908.3 million	106.7 million
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)	8.4 million	10%	$527.9 million	79.1 million

*Based on average close price for Q1 2010.
Source: Company reports, Yahoo! Finance.

Buffett expressed dismay at Kraft's deal to acquire Cadbury, describing it as "dumb" at the Berkshire annual meeting. The sale points to putting his money where his mouth is, though Berkshire's stake in Kraft remains large. Of course, the Kraft and Procter & Gamble sales may be nothing more than a tax-efficient way to replenish cash coffers following the Burlington Northern acquisition; Berkshire does not have large, unrealized gains in Kraft and Procter & Gamble.

Spring cleaning
In addition to the major sales shown above, Buffett eliminated holdings of health insurers, Wellpoint and UnitedHealth, from the portfolio. The remaining SunTrust Bank shares were sold, as was a small stake in Travelers.

The three buys
Amid all the selling, Buffett added to positions in Becton Dickinson, Iron Mountain, and Republic Services.