World-famous investor Warren Buffett has significantly reduced his stake in Apple. The now 93-year-old American reports this in the quarterly figures of his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway.
The value of the stake in Apple fell by 22 percent last quarter to $ 135.4 billion. At the end of last year, the company still had 174.3 billion dollars in its books. In the meantime, Apple’s stock price has fallen, but ‘only’ by 11 percent.
The figures seem to indicate a turnaround in the investment choices of Buffett, who has been known for years as a major investor in Apple. The American has also praised the dominant and leading position of the iPhone maker in the smartphone market for a long time.
Yet Buffett’s investments in Apple are not without controversy. Some experts believed that his stake in Apple had become far too large. This would have made his investment portfolio too dependent on the price movements of the American tech group.
Berkshire came into the hands of Buffett in the 1960s. He turned the then textile manufacturer into a large business empire. The company is now a conglomerate with interests in dozens of companies. For example, Buffett is active in the insurance industry, the railway sector and with energy companies.
The investments yielded a lot of profit again last quarter. Lately, Buffett seems to be having difficulty finding new good investments. His company’s treasury has grown to a record $189 billion. In the absence of deals, Berkshire has turned to share buybacks. This amounted to approximately $2.6 billion last quarter.
The company also hosts its annual shareholder meeting today in Omaha, Nebraska. Thousands of investors attend every year and Buffett will answer questions. The questions will include what Buffett considers sensible investments, but also what he thinks about climate change, for example.
Buffett will probably also reflect on the loss of his partner Charlie Munger, who died in November. He died more than a month before his hundredth birthday. Munger met Buffett in 1959. Later, Buffett would state that he received one of his most important business pieces of advice from Munger. He urged him to “buy great companies at a great price, rather than good companies at a great price.”
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