Berkshire Hathaway discloses $4.3 billion Alphabet stake, sells more Apple shares

Berkshire also reduced its Apple stake to 238.2 million shares, down from 280 million in the previous quarter. The company has now sold almost three-quarters of the more than 900 million Apple shares it once owned. Even so, Apple remains Berkshire’s biggest investment, valued at $60.7 billion at the end of September, Reuters said.

Alphabet is now Berkshire’s tenth-largest US stock holding. The investment is notable because Buffett usually prefers value-focused companies and has often avoided technology stocks. He has previously described Apple as more of a consumer products company because of the iPhone.

It is not known whether Buffett, investment managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, or incoming CEO Greg Abel were responsible for specific stock purchases. Buffett typically handles the largest deals.

At Berkshire’s 2019 annual meeting, Buffett and the company’s late vice chairman Charlie Munger said they regretted not buying Google earlier. “We screwed up,” Munger said at the time. Buffett added: “He’s saying we blew it.”

Following the disclosure, Alphabet shares rose 1.7% in after-hours trading. Reuters noted that investors often treat Berkshire’s new stakes as a positive signal.

More sales, including Bank of America

Between July and September, Berkshire bought $6.4 billion worth of shares and sold $12.5 billion, marking its twelfth straight quarter as a net seller. Apple likely made up most of the sales.

Berkshire also sold about 6% of its Bank of America shares, extending sales that began last year. The bank remains Berkshire’s third-largest holding.

Other changes included selling its stake in homebuilder D.R. Horton and buying more shares in companies such as Chubb and Domino’s Pizza.

Preparing for leadership change

Berkshire’s cash reserves grew to a record $381.7 billion as Buffett prepares to hand over leadership of the $1.1 trillion conglomerate to Greg Abel on 1 January.

Investors told Reuters that Berkshire has been cautious about stock prices. The company has not repurchased its own shares for more than a year and has not made a major acquisition in nearly a decade.

Berkshire owns close to 200 companies, including BNSF Railway, energy and industrial firms, and retail brands such as Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and See’s Candies, Reuters reported.