Warren Buffett dumped his $850m stake in Mary Barra’s General Motors
In a regulatory filing detailing its U.S.-listed shares as of Sept. 30, Berkshire reported no stakes in GM and P&G, after reporting stakes of $848 million and $48 million in June, and said it had reduces its stake in Amazon by 5%.
Berkshire also appears to have abandoned what amounted to a $621 million stake in Celanesea specialty materials company.
One new position was an $8 million stake in Atlanta Braves Holdings, which indirectly controls the Major League Baseball team and The Battery Atlanta, a mixed-use development located next to the Braves’ Truist Park.
The Braves had been separated from Media Freedomanother Berkshire investment, in July.
Tuesday’s filing details the investments that make up the bulk of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire’s stock portfolio, which totaled $318.6 billion as of Sept. 30.
Berkshire sold $7 billion worth of stock, including some of its big investments in Chevronand bought just $1.7 billion in the third quarter, a period of decline in its stock holdings led by Applewhose share price fell 12%.
For all of 2023, Berkshire sold $23.6 billion more in shares than it bought.
The net sales contributed to Berkshire’s record cash stake, which is roughly the same amount as its $156.8 billion stake in iPhone maker Apple.
Berkshire’s filing does not specify which investments belong to Buffett, which came from his portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, or why those investments were made.
The largest investments are usually Buffett’s, and investors often try to piggyback on Berkshire’s trading, reflecting Buffett’s reputation as one of the world’s greatest investors.
To this end, Berkshire has decided not to disclose one or more of its securities and said it has requested confidential treatment from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Berkshire has sometimes requested such treatment for major investments, including multibillion-dollar stakes in IBM And Exxon Mobile more than ten years ago. Neither appears to be a current Berkshire investment.
Among other third-quarter sales, Berkshire completed its exit from the video game maker Activision Blizzardwhich was purchased by Microsoft last month, and reduced its stakes in the life insurer Global life.
Berkshire also sold about two-thirds of its stake in Markel Group, a notable change given that some investors in recent years have viewed the insurance and investment company as a “mini-Berkshire.”
Buffett, 93, has led Berkshire since 1965.
His conglomerate also owns dozens of companies, including auto insurer Geico, BNSF railroads, energy and industrial companies, and consumer brands such as Benjamin Moore, Dairy Queen, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom and See’s Candy.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Lincoln Feast.)
