Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold about 13% of its holdings to Apple in the first quarter of 2024, the conglomerate said this weekend. . However, despite selling about 115 million shares, Buffett reiterated his commitment to AAPL going forward.
Meanwhile, Tim Cook, who was in Omaha for Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday, praised Buffett for his faith in Apple.
Warren Buffett sells 115 million shares of AAPL
As reported by CNBC, Berkshire's earnings report for the first quarter of 2024 showed that its stake in Apple is now worth $135.4 billion – indicating it owns about 790 million shares. Based on Apple's share price, this would mean Berkshire sold about 115 million shares, CNBC reports.
However, Apple is Berkshire's largest holding by a wide margin. Likewise, Berkshire is Apple's largest shareholder outside of ETF providers.
During Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting on Saturday, Buffett praised Apple and said it was an “even better business.” than the conglomerate's two other major holdings, American Express and Coca-Cola. Buffett also reassured investors: “Unless something dramatic happens that really changes our capital allocation, Apple will be our largest investment.”
Buffett did not provide specific details about why Berkshire sold 13% of its Apple shares during the quarter. However, he implied that the company had to increase its cash share for tax purposes:
“It doesn't bother me at all about writing this check, and I really hope that, given all that America has done for all of you, it shouldn't bother you that we are doing this, and if I If this year this figure will be 21%, and later we'll make it a little higher, I don't think you'll really mind the fact that we sold some Apple this year.”
General Apple CEO Tim Cook attended Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday. Regarding Berkshire's decision to sell some of its assets to Apple, Cook told CNBC that “I'm honored to have them as a shareholder.”
When Berkshire sold 10 million shares of AAPL in 2020, Buffett later admitted that the decision “was probably a mistake.” In the fourth quarter of 2023, Berkshire sold about 1% of its holdings to AAPL (10 million shares), making it the second quarter in a row that the conglomerate has reduced its stake in Apple.