Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has sold approximately half of the company’s stake in Apple during the third quarter of 2024. This significant move has raised eyebrows in the financial community, as Apple has been a major winner for Berkshire Hathaway over the past few years. According to filings with the SEC, Buffett sold around 389.4 million shares of Apple, worth roughly $80 billion.
The sale was highlighted by the Vltava Fund, an investment management company, in its recent third-quarter 2024 investor letter. The Vltava Fund noted that market volatility was particularly high at the beginning of August, amidst an environment where interest rates are being reduced for the first time in a long period. As a Berkshire shareholder, the investment management company expressed satisfaction with Buffett’s decision to sell Apple shares.
Over the past seven years, Berkshire’s stake in Apple has brought the company a profit exceeding $100 billion. Buffett’s substantial sale of Apple shares is seen as a strategic decision to capitalize on the stock’s high valuation. Apple Inc.
Buffett reduces Apple stake significantly
(NASDAQ: AAPL) closed at $226.80 per share on October 4, 2024, giving the company a market capitalization of $3.422 trillion. Over the last 52 weeks, Apple’s stock has gained 25.93% in value, with a one-month return of 2.04%.
Buffett began selling Apple shares in the first quarter of the year and continued through the third quarter. During the general meeting in May in Omaha, Buffett confirmed he was still selling Apple shares, a trend that likely persisted through the remainder of the year. The Vltava Fund believes that Berkshire’s management will reallocate the proceeds from the Apple sale more effectively, consistent with their historical performance of making prudent, long-term investments.
In the landscape of hedge funds, 184 portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) at the end of the second quarter, up from 150 in the previous quarter. Apple reported $85.8 billion in revenues, marking a 5% increase from the previous year.
While the potential of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) as an investment remains acknowledged, there is a growing sentiment that AI stocks may offer higher returns in a shorter timeframe.
