Warren Buffett continues to play defense in the stock market, reducing Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) exposure to equities yet again. Berkshire Hathaway’s cash pile hit another record.
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On Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway released its third-quarter report. Berkshire equity sales were a net $1.95 billion, up from $1.1 billion in the second quarter but down from Q1’s $3.9 billion. It’s the fourth straight quarter that Warren Buffett has been a net seller of stocks.
Buffett has been a big buyer in the ultimate Warren Buffett stock. Berkshire bought back $7.6 billion in BRKB stock, up from $6 billion in Q2 and $6.6 billion in Q1. Year to date, BRKB stock buybacks total $20.6 billion vs. $24.7 billion for all of 2020.
Berkshire Hathaway cash on swelled to $149.2 billion as of Sept. 30. That’s up from $144.1 billion at the end of Q2 and $145.4 billion at the end of Q1.
Buffett’s stock portfolio remains highly concentrated. In Q3, 68% of its value was comprised of Apple (AAPL) ($120.4 billion), Bank of America (BAC) ($31.3 billion), American Express (AXP) ($18.3 billion), and Coca-Cola (KO) ($21.9 billion).
It’s a Dow-heavy investment portfolio. Apple stock, American Express and Coca-Cola are all Dow Jones components.
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Berkshire Earnings
Berkshire Hathaway earnings, which include investments and derivatives, fell to $10.34 billion from $30.14 billion a year earlier. Berkshire earnings on a GAAP basis can be very volatile.
Berkshire earnings rose 18% on an operating basis to $6.882 billion. Higher profit at its railroad, utilities and energy divisions offset a larger insurance underwriting loss.
BRKB Stock
BRKB stock edged up 0.1% to 287.88 in Friday’s market trading. Shares have a 292.32 handle buy point in a consolidation going back six months.
However, the relative strength line for BKRB stock has fallen to an eight-month low. The RS line, the blue line in the chart provided, tracks a stock’s performance vs. the S&P 500 index.
Please follow Ed Carson on Twitter at @IBD_ECarson for stock market updates and more.
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Read More:Warren Buffett Keeps Playing Stock Market Defense As Berkshire Cash Pile Hits Record
2021-11-06 19:32:59
