Billionaire Warren Buffett has reduced Berkshire Hathaway’s massive stake in Apple in a move that could be disruptive to the broader stock market, according to an earnings report released Saturday.
“This could alarm markets, especially given the news from last week,” with weak tech earnings, disappointing jobs data and uncertainty about the future of interest rates, Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan told the AP.
Warren Buffett has consistently praised Apple CEO Tim Cookwho spoke at Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha in May, and spoke about how consumers are fiercely devoted to their iPhones and don’t like to trade them in.
In the first three months of the year, Berkshire had already reduced its stake in Apple by more than 10%.
Berkshire did not provide an exact count of its Apple shares in its report released Saturday, but estimated the investment was worth $84.2 billion at the end of the second quarteralthough shares soared over the summer to $237.23.
At the end of the first quarter, Berkshire’s stake in Apple was worth $135.4 billion.
Jim Shanahan loves that Berkshire still holds about 400 million shares of Apple.
CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert pointed out that Berkshire “is preparing for a weaker economic climate”.
Berkshire reported a small drop in profits, to $30.348 billion (about 28 billion euros), in the second quarter, compared to $35.912 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Berkshire owns a variety of insurance companies, the BNSF railroad, several major utilities, and a collection of retail and manufacturing companies, including brands such as Dairy Queen and See’s Candy.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
