Warren Buffett‘s company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has announced an increase in investment on Apple Inc. corresponding to a massive 55 percent.
It is a significant move, seeing that other major investors have chosen to rescind from Apple’s shares. The operation could have been made by one of Buffett’s partners in Berkshire Hathaway, but these large changes in investing sentiment are often performed by the business magnate. The change corresponds to a rise of 9.81 million to 15.23 million shares, equivalent to $1.46 billion.
Warren Buffett’s investment portfolio is often tracked by business analysts as a method of determining which stocks are viewed as valuable by the legendary investor. Warren Buffett is one of the richest men alive, and the change in sentiment of Apple’s stocks promoted by him has caused some stir among other investors.
The increase in stakes on Apple was accompanied by several other indicators that are worth mentioning
For starters, Berkshire Hathaway has maintained its position of 151.6 million shares on American Express for quite some time. Some suggest that not selling nor buying more shares of American Express is a result of confidence in the company, but there also appears to be a reduced margin for profits, which is why Buffett moved towards Apple.
Berkshire Hathaway also owns large parts of Coca-Cola and IBM, being safe companies where Buffett’s firm owns 400 million and 76 million shares respectively. The difference is that Buffett’s stakes corresponding to IBM have increased slightly by 5 million shares over the course of the year, but the difference does not compare itself to the recent changes in the stakes on Apple.
On the other hand, Berkshire Hathaway has slightly increased its stakes in Phillips 66, going from 75.55 million to 78.782 million. Phillips 66 is an energy company based in Houston, Texas. It is a fairly new corporation, performing its initial public offer on May 1, 2012. It produces natural gas and different petrochemicals, with around 14,000 employees distributed in many countries. Phillips 66 has been ranked as the 7th largest U.S. corporation based on its yearly revenue.
Mostly, the stakes held by Berkshire Hathaway have remained pretty much the same over the course of 2016 except for Apple and Wal-Mart. The firm’s stakes in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were reduced by 15 million shares, hitting the 40.226 million mark. On December 2015, the stake stood at 56.185 million, about 4 million less than June 2015’s 60.385 million shares. Berkshire Hathaway had raised its stakes on Wal-Mart prior to 2015, so it appears that there has been an important change of sentiment in the company’s value.
It is known that Berkshire Hathaway has been reluctant towards putting too much money towards technology-oriented companies, but it appears that times dictate the necessity of changing investing customs.
By studying other investors’ actions, one can see where the money is going in order to join the bandwagon and start earning substantial amounts of revenue. But before investing in the stock market it is advisable to obtain guidance from a stock broker or someone that has traded stocks in the past.
Source: CNBC