Warren Buffett speaks during Berkshire Hathaway’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 4, 2024.
CNBC
Warren Buffett sold another big chuck’s Apple stake, downsizing Berkshire Hathaway‘s largest equity holding for four quarters in a row.
The Omaha-based conglomerate held $69.9 billion in Apple stock at the end of September, according to its third-quarter earnings report released Saturday morning. This means Buffett is shedding about a quarter of his holdings with about 300 million shares remaining. In total, the stock is down 67.2% from the end of last year’s third quarter.
Oracle of Omaha began cutting its stake in the iPhone maker in the fourth quarter of 2023 and ramped up sales in the second quarter when it surprisingly dumped almost half of its stake.
Apple, YTD
It’s unclear what’s driving the continued selloff in Berkshire’s stock, which it first bought more than eight years ago. Analysts and shareholders have speculated because of high valuations as well as portfolio management reducing concentration. Berkshire’s Apple holdings were once so large that they accounted for half of their equity portfolio.
In May at Berkshire’s annual meeting, Buffett said that the sale was for tax reasons because he thought that taxes on capital gains could be raised in the future by the US government that wants to increase the fiscal deficit. However, the magnitude of the sale has led many to believe it could be more than just a tax-saving measure.
Amid the big sell-off, Berkshire’s cash pile reached $325.2 billion in the third quarter, the highest ever for the conglomerate.
Berkshire’s class A shares have gained 25% this year, outperforming the S&P 500’s 20.1% year-to-date return. The conglomerate crossed the $1 trillion market cap milestone in the third quarter when it hit an all-time high.
Apple shares are up 16% on the year, trailing the S&P 500’s 20% gain.
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