Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett in Omaha on May 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Associated Press | Billionaire Warren Buffett’s firm says it cut its holdings in a dozen companies in the first quarter, including slashing its stake in Kraft Foods Inc., as it finished raising cash for its $26.7 billion acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

The sale of more than 30 million Kraft shares came after Buffett criticized the company for overpaying when it acquired British candy maker Cadbury for $19.5 billion in February.

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s firm says it cut its holdings in a dozen companies in the first quarter, including slashing its stake in Kraft Foods Inc., as it finished raising cash for its $26.7 billion acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

The sale of more than 30 million Kraft shares came after Buffett criticized the company for overpaying when it acquired British candy maker Cadbury for $19.5 billion in February.

Berkshire Hathaway detailed the changes to its roughly $51 billion U.S. stock portfolio in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The filing offers a snapshot of the Omaha-based company’s holdings as of March 31.

During the first three months of the year Berkshire also reduced its stakes in consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co., oil company ConocoPhillips, retailer Costco Wholesale Corp., newspaper owner Gannett Inc. and medical products maker Johnson & Johnson.

But Berkshire did add to its holdings in waste hauler Republic Services Inc., data-storage firm Iron Mountain Inc., and medical device maker Becton Dickinson Co.

Berkshire officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, but they don’t typically comment on the company’s stock holdings beyond what it is legally required disclose.

Buffett has said that near the end of last year Berkshire sold some of its stock to raise the $8 billion cash it needed for the BNSF deal, and that selling may have continued in the first quarter because Buffett likes to have at least $20 billion cash on hand.

But Buffett, who is Berkshire’s chairman and CEO, has also been critical of Kraft’s acquisition of Cadbury. By the end of March, Berkshire held 106.7 million Kraft shares, down from the 138 million shares it held previously.

The Kraft sale was the biggest change in Berkshire’s holdings.

Berkshire sold 8.4 million shares of Procter & Gamble stock during the quarter, leaving the company with a little more than 79 million shares of the consumer products giant.

Berkshire also reported selling some of its shares of regional bank M&T Bank Corp., used car seller Carmax Inc. and credit ratings agency Moody’s Corp. during the quarter, but it maintained sizable stakes in all three.

Berkshire may have eliminated its holdings in Sun Trust Banks Inc., The Travelers Companies, United Health Group Inc. and Wellpoint Inc. because those companies were missing from the March 31 report. Previously, Berkshire held 2.4 million shares of SunTrust, 1.3 million Wellpoint shares, 1.2 million shares of United Health Care and 27,000 Travelers shares.

The filings does not differentiate between investments Berkshire makes, investments any of roughly 80 subsidiaries make, or investments Buffett himself makes.

Berkshire owns clothing, insurance, furniture, utility, jewelry and corporate jet companies. Berkshire also has big investments in companies including Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.