We’ll see the end of an era later this year, when investing legend Warren Buffett steps down from his leadership at Berkshire Hathaway. Over the past sixty years, Buffett’s investing strategy has turned the firm into a trillion-dollar giant, with powerful positions in the insurance, tech, and energy sectors. He’s known as a major backer of American brand names, and has long held multi-billion positions in Apple, American Express, and Coca-Cola.
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Buffett is particularly well-known for his promotion of value investing, buying into high-quality companies and holding onto them for the long term. A master of the bon mot, Buffett has said that if you can’t imagine holding a stock for 10 years, then you shouldn’t even hold it for 10 minutes. He has also shown a preference for buying into undervalued stocks, as long as their fundamentals are sound, and his success in finding those gems has earned him the nickname ‘the Oracle of Omaha.’
Following Buffett’s trades has long been a viable strategy for the ordinary retail investor – and as he retires, we can take a look at two of his final stock purchases as the head of Berkshire Hathaway.
They’re interesting choices – but according to the TipRanks database, analysts at Bank of America aren’t as convinced. So, let’s give them both a closer look to see where these names are at – and maybe get an idea of just why a major investor and a major investment bank are taking diverging stands.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
The first stock we’re looking at here, UnitedHealth, is a giant of the US health insurance industry – in fact, with its market cap of $275 billion, it is the largest company in that space. UnitedHealth operates through two distinct, but complementary, business divisions. The first of these, the eponymous UnitedHealthcare, offers customers a full range of health benefits and affordable coverage. The company’s policies include employer and individual plans; Medicare and retirement plans; and community and state benefit products.
Under its second main business division, Optum, the company provides a wide range of direct-care health services, including mental health services. Optum Health acts as a patient-centered provider, for high-quality, community-based care nationwide. Optum Insight partners with the payers, the providers, and the government and life-science companies that develop services and handle payment – all to create a simplified administrative and financial process. Finally, Optum RX deals with the pharmacy end, making medications available at affordable prices.
Through these business arms, UnitedHealth covers more than 148 million people worldwide, and employs nearly 400,000 people. The company’s workforce includes administrative and office staff; insurance adjusters; clinicians and pharmacists – everyone needed to provide leading-edge healthcare services. The company generates revenues in the hundreds of billions, but we should note, however, that UNH shares fell in April of this year, after the company released its 1Q25 results – and revised its full year 2025 guidance downward, a slide that continued when the company suspended its 2025 outlook in May. The stock faced additional downward pressure after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud at the company. All told, the stock is down 39% for the year-to-date.
On a positive note, UnitedHealth’s 2Q25 report showed a top line of $111.6 billion, a figure that up 13% year-over-year and met Street expectations. At the bottom line, the the non-GAAP EPS came to $4.08, missing the forecast by 37 cents per share. Even though the company’s earnings missed the forecast, they are still more than enough to fund the dividend. UNH’s next common share payment, for $2.21 per share, is due to be paid on September 23. At the declared rate, the dividend annualizes to $8.84 per common share and gives a forward yield of 3%.
Buffett, for his part, must think the stock now offers some great value. Last Friday, the stock got a bump when Berkshire Hathaway’s disclosure forms revealed that Buffett’s firm opened a significant stake in UNH. Berkshire Hathaway bought 5,039,564 shares of UNH, a stake that is worth $1.532 billion at the current share price.
On the other hand, while Bank of America acknowledges that UnitedHealth is a solid player in its field, it believes the company faces some near-term difficulties. As analyst Kevin Fischbeck writes, “UNH set a tone of refocusing on strong execution, but the pace of improvement is likely slower than expected. UNH expects ‘solid but moderate earnings growth in 2026, but accelerating in 2027 and in succeeding years.’ UNH didn’t explicitly bless 13-16% LT growth, but pointed in that direction, indicating it would get back to low double-digit ranges and get back to ‘historical levels,’ which is predicated on reasonable growth from well run businesses, compounding efficiency gains, deploying capital for shareholders and M&A. UNH was much more open about segment margins and issues, creating a better understanding of the drivers. That said, we reiterate Neutral given what we see as significant earnings power, but low visibility in earnings in the near term.”
The stated Neutral rating is accompanied by a $290 price target – which implies a downside of 4.5% in the next 12 months. (To watch Fischbeck’s track record, click here)
There are 22 recent analyst reviews on file for UNH, and the breakdown – 18 to Buy, 2 to Hold and Sell, each – supports a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The shares are priced at $304.01 and the average target price of $312.95 indicates a modest one-year upside potential of 3%. (See UNH stock forecast)
Allegion (ALLE)
The next stock we’ll look at is Allegion, a leader in the home security field. Allegion’s products are designed to keep people safe, whether at home, at school, at work, or traveling to and fro. The company has operations and sales in more than 120 countries, and its product lines focus on doorway security: residential and commercial locks and locking mechanisms, door closers and other exit devices, and advanced doorframes to control access to protected spaces. The company spun off from Ingersoll Rand to become a stand-alone public firm in 2013. Allegion boasts that some of its owned brand names date back to the 1700s.
Among the names in Allegion’s portfolio are Austral Lock, Kreiger Specialty Products, Stanley Access Technologies, Steelcraft, Kryptonite, and Soss Door Hardware. Most of the company’s product brands can be found around the world, and specific products include such stand-bys as keys and levers; portable chains and locks (think bicycles, here); electronic access and monitoring devices; weather stripping solutions for exterior doors; latches, hinges, and other hardware for door systems; and even automated entrance solutions. While we don’t always think of doors and doorways as essential technology, Allegion’s product lines remind us that doors – and other access points – are vital areas wherever we go.
In its quarterly report for 2Q25, Allegion’s top line came to $1.02 billion. This was up 5.6% from the prior year and was $20.6 million better than had been anticipated. The company’s bottom line also beat the estimates; the $2.04 non-GAAP EPS was up 4% year-over-year and was 5 cents per share better than expected.
When we turn to Warren Buffett’s purchase, we find that the legendary investor’s new position in ALLE totals 780,133 shares. This holding is currently valued at $130.414 million.
This is another stock whose good execution has caught Bank of America’s attention. 5-star analyst Andrew Obin notes the company’s new management and its sound prospects for continued strong results – although he also notes that Allegion’s close connections to the construction industry could be problematic if interest rates remain high. Obin writes of the company, “While Allegion’s end markets have been weak, the company has executed well. Since August 2022 when the current CEO John Stone joined, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has only been at or above 50 for six months. Despite the depressed ABI, Allegion has beat on EPS every quarter since Stone has been CEO. We expect the execution to remain strong as the company’s markets bottom/improve… Our Neutral rating balances Allegion’s consistent execution and the bottoming of the non-resi construction market with Allegion’s exposure to the residential construction market which remains soft in the current high-interest rate environment.”
Obin’s Neutral (i.e., Hold) rating comes along with a $175 price target that implies this stock will gain 5% on the one-year horizon. (To watch Obin’s track record, click here)
There are 9 recent analyst reviews here, and their split of 3 Buys and 6 Holds gives the stock its Moderate Buy consensus rating. ALLE shares are currently trading for $167.17 and have an average price target of $171.56, suggesting the shares will stay rangebound for the time being. (See ALLE stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.