Berkshire Hathaway has continued to reduce its stake in Apple for three consecutive quarters, and Warren Buffett has sold about a quarter of his Apple stock holdings. As of late September, Berkshire owned about $69.9 billion in Apple stock, down from about $84.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
Buffett’s company has consistently reduced its holdings in Apple and other companies throughout 2024. They sold 13% of their Apple shares in the first quarter of 2024, and about 50% in the second quarter of 2024. This new sale is approximately 25 shares. % means they now own about 300 million shares of Apple stock, down from 400 million shares at the end of the second quarter.
As of the end of 2023, Hathaway owns about 905 million shares of Apple stock, meaning their stake is about one-third of what it once was. As of the market close on November 1st, those 905 million Apple shares will be worth approximately 201.7 billion shares.
Meanwhile, all this happens as Berkshire Hathaway builds the largest pile of cash in history. At the end of the second quarter, the company’s cash pile was about $277 billion. Currently, it is about $325 billion.
Warren Buffett has previously said, “Unless something dramatic happens that changes our capital allocation, Apple will remain our largest holding.” He previously said the move to reduce Apple’s stock in the first quarter was primarily for tax purposes, but the continued selloff seems to suggest otherwise.
Apple’s stock price is currently at near all-time highs, so the sale may just be a risk mitigation move for the company.
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