We recently learned what Warren Buffett and his $350 billion Berkshire Hathaway did with their money in the fourth quarter, reports Nick Hodge, editor of Like Minded People.
Perhaps most interesting in this report was finding out what Buffett chose to buy: Deere & Co. (DE).
Buffett bought over $1.51 billion—or 17.1 million shares of it—a 5% stake. Deere trades with a $31 billion market cap, has a P/E of 11.5, and currently yields 2.7%.
It’s certainly a vote of confidence in a company that has cut thousands of jobs, sold its crop insurance business, and missed profit estimates, all in the past few months.
I like Deere as well. And I get the low agricultural commodity price and new equipment overhang bear argument.
I also think 7.3 billion hungry mouths—with a great number of them emerging out of poverty—is a stronger force. That’s why I like land, water, and food as an asset class.
We own Deere through our holding of the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO), of which Deere is one of the top three holdings, comprising 6.86% of the fund.
The fund also owns other equipment manufacturers like Kubota, as well as fertilizer and agricultural sciences companies.
We’ve owned our position in that for quite some time, starting in July 2013, when it was trading for $51.20. We’ve seen it rise as high as $56.32. It’s also yielding about 3%. It’s up about 2% year-to-date.
If you’re looking to establish a long-term ag position, now looks like a good time. The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF is a buy under $55.00.
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