Summary
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During the third quarter 2017 Warren Buffet’s investment vehicle increased its existing stake in Apple by 3%. The firm now sits on 134 million shares or 2.6% of the total outstanding shares valued at over $22 billion.
A recent regulatory filing reveals that in the quarter ending 30th September Buffet further topped up the stake in Apple Inc, a stake which has more than doubled in size in 2017 from around 61m to 134m shares. Bloomberg reports Berkshire as the fifth largest single investor in Apple shares.
The news reinforces a trend for Buffett. He is famous in investment circles for avoiding technology companies, however Apple clearly fits in with his investment philosophy. Berkshire Hathaway first added Apple to its portfolio back in April 2016, initially buying 10 million shares.
As with many of Buffett’s longer term investments, like Coca-Cola, Apple is an exceptionally strong brand and pays a regular dividend with a buyback programme. The company also trades at a lower PE (Price to Earnings) ratio than the majority in its sector.
Alongside increasing its share in Apple, Berkshire Hathaway cut back its holding in IBM by 32%, raised its stake in Synchrony Financial and increased its holding in Monsanto, the agro-biotech firm, by 10%.
Back in May 2017 Buffet revealed to CNBC that “I don’t value IBM the same way that I did six years ago when I started buying,”. In August he told CNBC, “I’ve never sold a share” in Apple and that “I don’t pay attention to the calendar when I am buying”.
The 13F filing was made on Tuesday. Larger investment firms, including pension funds and hedge funds, are required to disclose their long positions in stocks every quarter. The filing was made more than a month ago and may have changed since.
Image Credit: TheStreet
