The world’s most famous investor and the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett sold almost $800m worth of Apple [NASDAQ: AAPL] stock this month. Buffett claims that Apple is one of his favorite stocks and he likes to buy more once the share price becomes attractive.
Apple still remains the Buffett’s top holding according to the investment firm’s latest 13F filings. Apple holds the biggest share of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio in the fourth quarter, accounting for 30 per cent of the entire portfolio. The tech giant’s stock is currently around $320 a share.
“If it were cheaper, we’d be buying it. We aren’t buying it here,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC “Squawk Box”. “I don’t see myself selling – the lower it goes the better. I like it, obviously.”
Freeing Cash for New Opportunities
Apple’s share price has risen close to 90 per cent over the past twelve months, driven by robust growth in iPhone sales a well as diversifying its sales into services, wearable tech, home and accessories, which has seen these units enjoy high double-digit growth.
The share price rally has created an attractive selling opportunity for value investors. Buffett’s top investment lieutenants, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, says the selling is simply done in order to free up cash for other investments. The company has established a position in other big names like Kroger[NYSE: KR], America’s largest supermarket chain, and medical firm Biogen [NASDAQ: BIIB]. Berkshire Hathaway bought 18.94 million shares of Kroger worth $549.1m in fourth-quarter and the firm invested close to $192.4 m in 648,000 Biogen shares.
Warren Buffett’s Top 10 Favorite Stocks
Berkshire Hathaway’s stock portfolio value rose to $242bn from $215bn compared to a year ago. Its three largest holdings make up 52% of the entire portfolio. Along with the addition of Kroger and Biogen, Berkshire Hathaway increased its position in oil and gas business Occidental Petroleum and Candaian energy concern Suncor while declined its investments in financial firms Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Travelers, and energy giant Phillips 66. Below are the Warren Buffet’s top 10 stocks:
- Delta Air Lines [NYSE: DAL]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 70,910,456
Approximate value: $4 billion
- Moody’s [NYSE: MCO)
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 24,669,778
Approximate value: $6 billion
- US Bancorp [NYSE: USB]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 132,459,618
Approximate value: $8 billion
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM)
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 59,514,932
Approximate value: $8 billion
- Kraft Heinz [NYSE: KHC]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 325,634,818
Approximate value: $10 billion
- Wells Fargo [NYSE: WFC]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 323,212,918
Approximate value: $17 billion
- American Express [NYSE: AXP]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 151,610,700
Approximate value: $19 billion
- Coca-Cola [NYSE: KO]
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 400 million
Approximate value: $22 billion
- Bank of America [NYSE: BAC)
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 925,008,600
Approximate value: $33 billion
- Apple [NASDAQ: AAPL)
Berkshire Hathaway shares: 245,155,566
Approximate value: $72 billion
