Warren Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway, which owns GEICO and Dairy Queen, sold off about 1% of its stake in Apple in the last quarter of 2023, the company revealed in new SEC filings.
Investors are now pouring over the filings to get insight into the Oracle of Omaha’s views on the state of the market.
Berkshire Hathaway now has a 5.9% stake in the tech giant worth about $176 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. That is still over half of the company’s more than $300 billion stock portfolio.
Still, the latest move, along with the holding company’s slashing of its stake in computer-maker HP by 78%, could signal tough times ahead for tech companies selling hardware. By contrast, Buffett’s moves show growing interest in the energy sector.
Apple on the decline
Apple stock has fallen 5% since the start of 2024, to less than $183 per share. In January, it lost its spot as the world’s most valuable company to Microsoft, which has a market cap of $3 trillion. Apple’s market cap currently stands at $2.8 trillion.
A few brokerages have also downgraded Apple stock to a “sell” rating over concerns about iPhone demand, especially in China.
The company recently reported in its latest quarterly earnings that its net sales in China fell 13% year-over-year in the three months ended Dec. 30.
Where Warren Buffett is investing
In the last quarter of 2023, Berkshire Hathaway has increased its stake in Chevron by 18% to more than $18 billion, according to Forbes. The holding company also grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by almost 9% to about $14.5 million.
Its stake in the satellite radio company SiriusXM increased to about $220 million, MarketWatch reported.