When Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) reported its second-quarter earnings a couple of weeks ago, investors learned that CEO Warren Buffett and his team sold a large portion of its massive stake in tech-giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). However, investors didn't know exactly how much Apple stock Berkshire sold and still owned.
Berkshire only reported that it owned $84.2 billion in Apple stock as of June 30. By using the stock price as of that date, it appeared that Berkshire sold "about half" of its Apple stock.
Now, investors know the exact number. According to Berkshire's latest 13-F filing, the company sold 389,368,450 shares of Apple in the second quarter. Berkshire currently owns exactly 400,000,000 shares of the big-tech giant.
Why did Berkshire get rid of so much Apple stock?
Investors don't know the exact price at which Berkshire sold its Apple stock, but based on Apple's current market value, the company likely received sale proceeds in the ballpark of $82 billion. We also don't know exactly why Buffett decided to hit the sell button. (A sale of this magnitude was almost certainly authorized by Buffett himself.)
However, there are a few potential reasons, including but not limited to:
- Taking profits: Berkshire was sitting on a gain of more than 400% from Apple, and Buffett might have wanted to take some profits off the table.
- Reducing concentration: Buffett isn't scared of having a concentrated portfolio, but at the end of 2023, Apple made up about half of Berkshire's stock portfolio.
- Raising cash: After the Apple sale, Berkshire had $277 billion in cash and Treasuries. Buffett might see a recession in the near future and wants available capital to deploy.
Whatever the reason, Berkshire now has a far-less-concentrated stock portfolio than it did and a massive war chest of cash to work with.
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Matt Frankel has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
