Each quarter, we get a look into Warren Buffett’s largest public investments. This insight can help us track down the top dividend stocks. Buffett has a proven track record, and anyone can follow his lead.

You can invest directly in his holding company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B). Or you can pick individual stocks from his portfolio. Below, I’ll cover his best dividend stocks in 2022. They cover multiple sectors and have proven track records.

Then, below the list of stocks, you’ll see how I track Warren Buffett’s moves. You can use this same strategy to track other large institutional investors.

An investment analyst looking for the top dividend stocks

Warren Buffett’s Top 10 Dividend Stocks

  1. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)
  2. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
  3. Chevron (NYSE: CVX)
  4. American Express (NYSE: AXP)
  5. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)
  6. Kraft Heinz (Nasdaq: KHC)
  7. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY)
  8. Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO)
  9. Verizon (NYSE: VZ)
  10. U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB)

These are some of Warren Buffett’s largest dividend stock positions. Let’s take a closer look at some of the individual opportunities…

Also, feel free to check out this investment calculator. It’s completely free to use, and you can see how big your portfolio can grow.

Companies Highlights and Dividend Yields

Apple is by far Warren Buffett’s largest holding. His total position has climbed to roughly $150 billion. And although Apple has below a 1% dividend yield, it’s in a strong position to continue increasing its payout. So for income stability and growth, it might be a great opportunity for new investors that can play the long game.

If you’re looking for a little more income, Bank of America pays above a 2% dividend yield. That’s not huge, but given interest rates are still near the lower bound, it’s great for a safe company. Banks are much healthier than they were in 2008-2009. After the Great Recession, regulators forced them to become better-capitalized.

One of the newest to the top five largest positions, Chevron is a play for continued energy demand and higher prices. Renewable energy gets a lot of attention but fossil fuels will continue to power our world for many decades to come.

The early days of the pandemic put a lot of downward pressure on American Express. Some forms of consumer spending had decreased, but there was also been a bigger push into a cashless world. American Express easily survived the shutdowns and has rebounded with consumer spending. It’s well positioned as the digital economy continues to grow.

Coca-Cola is one of Warren Buffett’s oldest top dividend stocks. He bought more than $1 billion worth in 1988, and the position has multiplied since. Coca-Cola continues to adapt to changing consumer demands, and this helps it support a dividend yield of more than 3%.

Kraft Heinz has gone through a rough patch and recently cut its dividend. After investors beat down its share price, though, its yield climbed above 5%. The management team now is improving marketing as well as cutting expenses. Kraft Heinz is still a dominant player and has the ability to produce healthy long-term returns.

How to Track Berkshire Hathaway’s Top Dividend Stocks

To find these investment opportunities, I looked at Berkshire Hathaway’s recent 13F filing. The SEC requires that these documents be submitted quarterly by institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in managed assets.

Here’s a link to Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F SEC filing page. When the company releases an update, you can find it there and compare it with previous filings to find position changes.

That’s going straight to the source. But there are some other useful sites out there as well. I’ve used both WhaleWisdom and GuruFocus in the past.

It’s also important to note that some funds are more useful than others to follow. Some big fund managers will take large positions without discussing the strategy behind them (they aren’t required to). For example, a hedge fund manager might be take a large short-term hedge position. There’s a bit of a delay with these filings, so that also sometimes makes the information less useful.

But in the case of Warren Buffett, we know his favorite holding period is forever (check out these Warren Buffett quotes). So tracking his top dividend stocks can be more informative.

I hope this information is helpful. Feel free to share it with friends and family. There are also many other great investment opportunities to consider…