Key Takeaways
- Berkshire Hathaway’s cash and U.S. Treasury holdings rose to a record high in the second quarter at $276.9 billion, as it trimmed its stock holdings in Apple and more.
- While the company added a few new positions and raised some of its equity stakes in the second quarter, filings this week showed, Berkshire still trimmed more of its stock holdings than it added.
- Berkshire’s selling spree over several quarters raised speculation Warren Buffett might be concerned about the market becoming overheated, raising cash for successors, or unimpressed with other options.
- Back in May, Buffett said Berkshire was building its cash position and that “things aren’t attractive,” suggesting difficulty finding strong candidates meeting Berkshire’s criteria.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) added a few new positions and raised some of its equity stakes in the second quarter, filings this week showed, though it trimmed more of its stock holdings than it added, bringing Berkshire Hathaway’s cash and U.S. Treasury holdings to a record high at $276.9 billion.
With well over half of that amount in Treasury bills at $234.6 billion, Buffett owned more in Treasury bills at the end of the second quarter than even the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The company added new positions in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Heico (HEI) in the second quarter, while it raised stakes in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Chubb (CB), among others. However, it trimmed stakes in Apple (AAPL), Chevron (CVX), Capital One (COF), and more.
Recent filings showed the company also downsized its stake in Bank of America (BAC) in July after the quarter ended.
The size of Berkshire’s growing cash pile and selling spree over several quarters have raised speculation Buffett could be concerned about the market becoming overheated, raising cash for successors, or unimpressed with other options.
Back in May, Buffett said Berkshire was building its cash position and suggested it’s been difficult finding opportunities meeting Berkshire’s criteria.
“It’s just, things aren’t attractive,” he said, adding that “there are certain ways that can change. We’ll see whether they do.”