Buffett's More Aggressive Slash of Q3 Holdings: Apple and BAC Were Victims, but Rarely Bought Those Two Stocks
2min read According to the disclosure by SEC, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway just submitted its third-quarter holdings report (13F) for the period ending September 30 on Thursday. The Omaha-based conglomerate took new stakes in Domino's Pizza (DPZ) and swimming pool supplier Pool Corp. (POOL) while continuing to trim positions in longstanding holdings Apple (AAPL) and Bank of America (BAC).
As of the end of the third quarter, the total market value of Berkshire Hathaway's holdings amounted to $266 billion, down slightly from $280 billion in the previous quarter. During this period, the Buffett-led conglomerate bought $1.5 billion worth of stocks while selling $36.1 billion, netting a sale of $34.6 billion in publicly traded stocks.
Berkshire's top ten holdings accounted for 89.68% of the total market value. These top holdings include Apple, American Express, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Moody's, Kraft Heinz, Chubb Insurance, and DaVita.
In the third quarter, Berkshire bought nearly 1.3 million shares of Domino's Pizza, valued at nearly $550 million, and added a 404,000-share stake in Pool Corp., valued at $152 million. Shares of both Domino's and Pool surged in extended trading on Thursday after the investments were made public.
Conversely, Berkshire's top five sell-offs included Apple, Bank of America, Liberty Sirius XM Group Series C (LSXMK), Liberty Sirius XM Group Series A (LSXMA), and Floor & Decor (FND).
Berkshire has steadily reduced its stake in Apple, trimming it from nearly $175 billion at the start of the year to about $70 billion by the end of September. Despite this, Apple still represents about a quarter of Berkshire's $266 billion equity portfolio, its share of the total holdings dropping from 30.09% last quarter to 26.24%.
Berkshire's reduction in its Bank of America stake was nearly 23%, bringing its holding down to 10.4% by the end of the quarter. It is noteworthy that regulatory filings indicate Berkshire has continued to reduce its stake in Bank of America into October, falling below the critical 10% disclosure threshold.
In addition, Buffett sold the remainder of Berkshire's stake in Floor & Decor Holdings last quarter after reducing it in the prior quarter. He also slashed his stake in cosmetics chain Ulta Beauty (ULTA), selling more than 95% of his holdings after initiating the position in the second quarter. Additionally, he reduced stakes in Capital One Financial (COF), Charter Communications (CHTR), and fintech firm Nu Holdings (NU).
Aerospace firm Heico Corp. (HEI) was the only existing position that Buffett added to during the quarter, purchasing 5,445 shares to bring his stake to about 1.05 million shares, worth over $200 million.
Earlier this month, Berkshire's Q3 earnings report revealed that after reducing its stakes in Apple and Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway's cash reserves grew by $48 billion, reaching a record-high $325.2 billion.