The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Berkshire with a holding of 9.8 million Apple shares at a value of around $1.07 billion.
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Buffett’s wealth is derived mainly through Omaha, Neb. -based Berkshire, where for decades he has made shrewd, long-term investments in financial and manufacturing companies that earned him the nickname the “Oracle of Omaha”. Tepper previously held 1.26 million shares, last valued around $133 million, media reports said.
On Monday, Apple’s share price climbed 2% on the back of the news, enabling the multinational to regain its position as the biggest global company in terms of market capitalisation.
The investment deepens Berkshire’s commitment to the technology sector, which Buffett has largely shunned apart from a big stake in International Business Machines Corp, which grew slightly in the first quarter.
“Apple at the current valuation makes a ton of sense; it’s a consumer-product company more than a tech company”, Jeff Matthews, an author of Berkshire-related books, said about the new holding.
Apple’s market value last week dipped below that of Google parent Alphabet Inc even though Apple generates roughly triple the revenue and profit. There is quite a lot of activity in the stock today, since about 7.98 million shares have already swapped hands by now, as opposed to the average daily trading volume of 14.44 million shares.
On Monday he also told CNBC that he would consider helping Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans, finance a bid for the internet firm Yahoo. I have no proof but the unrelenting negativity that they spew about Apple as a company makes me wonder if they have an ulterior motive.
Apple has been under pressure after reporting recently that sales of the iPhone had fallen for the first time while it also said quarterly revenues had slipped – for the first time in 13 years. This could mean that Buffett is turning more and more power over, similar to Buffett asking them to take a seat on the board of Berkshire portfolio companies.
Noted value investor Warren Buffett has picked up shares of Apple (AAPL) as growth investors have rotated out of the stock.
It’s worth noting, though, that Buffett’s position in Apple is still relatively small compared to Berkshire’s top holdings – most notably Kraft Heinz, Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, IBM, American Express and Phillips 66.
Last month, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn revealed that he had sold his entire stake in Apple, citing the risk of China’s influence on the stock.
Whether or not Buffett or Berkshire Hathaway have intentions of pushing change at Apple is yet to be known.
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Berkshire marginally increased its stake in that business in the first quarter.
