Berkshire Hathaway released it the last quarterly report on Saturday with a big number: The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate now owns just $84.2 billion in Apple stock, down nearly 50% from the $174.3 billion it held in December. Apple shares fell more than 5% in response to Monday's news.
The report shows that, as of December 31, 79% of the combined value of all Berkshire's stock came from five companies: Apple ($174.3 billion), Bank of America ($34.8 billion), American Express ($28.4 billion), Coca-Cola ($23.6 billion) and Chevron ($18.8 billion).
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By June 30, Berkshire changed its holdings where the same five companies were 72% of the total value of the shares. Apple is still Berkshire's largest holding, but Berkshire's stake in the iPhone maker fell to $84.2 billion. Chevron fell to $18.6 billion, while Bank of America, American Express and Coca-Cola rose to $41.1 billion, $35.1 billion and $25.5 billion, respectively.
“One safe conclusion is that Berkshire is getting defensive,” said CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert. Reuterswhich means Berkshire can be safe and responsive to high stock market valuations, or concerns about the US economy.
Apple currently is most valuable company in the world, with one market capitalization over $3 trillion at the time of writing. Berkshire has now cut its stake in Apple three quarters in a row.
At Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in May, 93-year-old Buffett he hinted that Berkshire cut its holdings in Apple for tax reasons and that he remained safe in Apple.
“We're going to own — unless something really extraordinary happens — we're going to own Apple and American Express and Coca-Cola when Greg takes over this place,” Buffett said, referring to his successor Greg Abel.
Others top ten Berkshire properties include Occidental Petroleum, Moody's and Kraft Heinz.
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