Berkshire trims Apple, sheds four stocks, mum on new investment (updated)

StoneCo

14/02/2024 22:26

(Adds additional holdings, background, byline)
    By Jonathan Stempel
       Feb 14 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway  BRKa.N  on
Wednesday said it has trimmed its huge stake in Apple  AAPL.O 
and shed four common stock holdings, and kept investors guessing
on what could be a major new investment by Warren Buffett.
    In a regulatory filing describing its U.S.-listed stock
holdings at the end of 2023, Berkshire said it sold 10 million
Apple shares in the fourth quarter, but still owned more than
905 million shares worth about $174 billion.
        Though Buffett has been driving Berkshire's investment
in Apple, the stock sales in the iPhone maker could have been
made by one of his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted
Weschler, who oversee some Berkshire investments.
  
        Berkshire reported no holdings in homebuilder DR Horton
 DHI.N , insurer Globe Life  GL.N , insurance and investment
company Markel  MKL.N  and Brazilian credit card processor
StoneCo  STNE.O , after holding more than $1 billion of those
stocks at the end of September.
        The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate also boosted its
stake in oil company Chevron  CVX.N , one of its biggest
holdings, and reduced its stakes in computer and printer maker
HP  HPQ.N  and media company Paramount Global  PARA.O .
  
        For a second straight quarter, Berkshire obtained
permission from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to
temporarily keep one or more of its holdings confidential.
        It occasionally requests such treatment when it is
making big investments, including multibillion-dollar stakes in
Chevron, Exxon Mobil  XOM.N , IBM  IBM.N  and Verizon
Communications  VZ.N .
  
        This is because investors often try to piggyback on what
Berkshire does, reflecting Buffett's reputation as one of the
world's greatest investors. Berkshire prefers not to have
investors pile into its stocks before it's done buying.
  
        In its third-quarter report in November, Berkshire
hinted that its confidential investment may involve a bank,
finance company or insurer because it had recently spent $1.2
billion on stock in that sector. It has yet to reveal where the
money went.
  
        Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. It no longer invests in Exxon, IBM and Verizon.
  
        Buffett, 93, has run Berkshire since 1965.
  
        The conglomerate also owns dozens of businesses
including the Geico car insurer, BNSF railroad, energy and
industrial companies, and consumer brands such as Benjamin
Moore, Dairy Queen, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom and See's
Candies.
  
        It also owns the Pilot truck stop chain, after buying
the 20% it didn't already own from the billionaire Haslam family
in January.
  
        Berkshire will reveal more about its investing and
businesses when it releases its annual report and Buffett's
annual letter to shareholders, expected on Feb. 24.
  

 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Diane Craft)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))