Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Stake in Apple, Paramount Global in Relatively Quiet Quarter

The moves were revealed in Berkshire’s 13F filing, a form that institutional investors that manage more than $100 million are required to file to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within 45 days of the end of each quarter. The filing only reflects investors’ equity holdings as of the end of the previous quarter—not necessarily what their portfolios look like today. Still, many investors view Berkshire’s 13Fs as a way to get a sense of how Mr. Buffett, Mr. Buffett’s deputies and his right-hand man

Charlie Munger

are approaching the markets.

Unlike during the third quarter, Berkshire didn’t open new positions in any companies in the final three months of the year. Because of Mr. Buffett’s prominence, shares of companies that Berkshire has opened new positions in sometimes get a boost following the disclosure.

The company reduced its position in chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 51.8 million shares, or roughly 86%, a notable move considering Berkshire only began investing in the company during the third quarter.

It also decreased its stakes in financial stocks U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., and

Ally Financial.

Analysts had been questioning if Berkshire would further cut its stake in financial stocks since it reduced its stake in the Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, which it had been invested in since 2006, by more than half last year. 

Berkshire also trimmed its position in videogame maker

Activision-Blizzard Inc.,

Chevron Corp.

, healthcare company

McKesson Corp.

and grocery-chain

Kroger Co.

Despite the move, Chevron remains one of Berkshire’s five biggest holdings, following Apple and

Bank of America Corp.

Investors will get more information about Berkshire’s activity and its subsidiaries’ performance in the fourth quarter later in the month, when the company releases its earnings results. Berkshire spent $66 billion buying stocks in the first nine months of 2022, more than 13 times its spending over the same period in 2021, according to company filings. Investors interpreted the pickup in activity to Berkshire taking advantage of the tumult across markets in 2022, following a relatively quiet period in 2021, in which the company largely stuck to repurchasing its own shares.

Write to Akane Otani at [email protected]