Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Alphabet, Cuts Banks, Dumps Constellation Brands
The conglomerate's second-quarter filing shows Chief Executive Greg Abel expanding bets on housing and travel while pulling back from financial stocks.
Berkshire Hathaway's latest snapshot of its stock portfolio shows Chief Executive Greg Abel steering the conglomerate away from banks and into technology, housing and airlines, according to a regulatory filing made public late Friday. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company also sold off its entire stake in Constellation Brands, the maker of Corona and Modelo beer, CNBC and Fortune reported.
The filing covers the second quarter, the first full quarter with Abel as CEO after he took over from Warren Buffett at the start of the year. Buffett remains chairman and Berkshire's largest shareholder.
Alphabet Jumps Into Top Three
Berkshire's stake in Alphabet, Google's parent company, grew 83% in the quarter to roughly 106 million shares worth $37.9 billion as of June 30, according to CNBC. That growth pushed Alphabet into Berkshire's third-largest U.S.-listed stock holding, trailing only Apple and American Express, CNBC reported. Buffett told CNBC he had championed the Alphabet position, with Abel's backing.
Much of the increase reflects a $10 billion private stock purchase Berkshire agreed to in June, as Alphabet works to raise $80 billion to build out computing capacity for its artificial intelligence business, according to Fortune. At the end of last year, Berkshire held just 17.8 million Alphabet shares worth $5.6 billion, Fortune reported.
Berkshire also expanded its bets on housing and travel. Its stake in homebuilder Lennar's Class A shares rose almost 30% to 13.1 million shares worth about $1.19 billion, while its Class B holdings climbed 25% to roughly 298,000 shares, CNBC reported. The company also opened a small new position in D.R. Horton, buying 3,600 shares worth $580,504, according to the two outlets. In July, Berkshire completed its $6.8 billion purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison, Fortune reported.
Berkshire's Delta Air Lines stake climbed 44% to 57.3 million shares worth about $5.4 billion, according to CNBC. It also boosted its holding in Macy's, worth $173 million as of June 30, Fortune reported.
Banks and Beer Get the Ax
At the same time, Berkshire trimmed several bank holdings. Its stakes in Bank of America and Ally Financial fell about 6% and 6.9%, respectively, while its position in Capital One Financial was cut by 58%, Fortune reported. The company also pared back its stakes in Kroger, Nucor and DaVita.
Berkshire sold off all 632,890 of its shares in Constellation Brands, Fortune reported.
Overall, Berkshire became a net buyer of stocks for the first time in 14 quarters, making nearly $20 billion in net purchases, according to CNBC. Its cash pile fell to $365.5 billion at the end of June from a record $397.4 billion three months earlier. Berkshire does not comment publicly on its portfolio moves, Fortune reported.
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