Berkshire's new CEO overhauls portfolio, dumping a slate of stocks

(This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) ABEL OVERHAULS PORTFOLIO Notable positions cut, Alphabet more than tripled, Delta is back Berkshire Hathaway's equity portfolio got one of its biggest renovations ever during Greg Abel's first three months as the company's CEO, according to a new SEC filing . Two new names, Delta Air Lines and Macy's , have been added to the list, along with increases for four holdings. Google parent Alphabet got the biggest boost as Berkshire increased the number of shares it owns by 224% in the first quarter. Given its size, the increase is almost certainly an Abel move that was either endorsed, or possibly even suggested, by Warren Buffett. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards With a market value of $16.6 billion as of the end of the first quarter, the Google parent is Berkshire's seventh largest equity holding. At least for the short term, the decision to buy so many shares has been a spectacular success. The stock has seen a 38% rally since the end of the first quarter, just over six weeks ago. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Abel dramatically cuts the number of companies in the portfolio As previewed by The Wall Street Journal last month, it appears Abel did sell many or all of the stocks that had been handled by portfolio manager Todd Combs, who moved to JPMorgan in early December . …