Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold a number of stocks last quarter during the volatile market, according to a new regulatory filing. The Omaha-based conglomerate dumped its remaining $780 million stake in General Motors , a stock Berkshire has been trimming for a few quarters. Berkshire also sold its $650 million stake in materials company Celanese , while exiting smaller positions in United Parcel Service , Johnson & Johnson , Mondelez International and Procter & Gamble. Meanwhile, Berkshire trimmed its stakes in Amazon and Aon slightly, the filing showed. These holdings were still worth more than $1 billion each at the end of September, however. The conglomerate was also downsizing its top bets HP and Chevron . Some of these moves, especially ones involving smaller positions, could have been done by Buffett’s investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who each manage about $15 billion for Berkshire. It was previously revealed that Berkshire was a net seller of publicly traded stocks in the third quarter, buying $1.7 billion worth of equities while selling nearly $7 billion. The S & P 500 shed more than 3% last quarter before bouncing back this month. Besides these moves, the “Oracle of Omaha” kept his top holdings unchanged. Apple continued to be the conglomerate’s biggest bet by far, with a value north of $156 billion. Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz and Moody’s were also Berkshire’s longtime holdings. Buffett has been in a defensive mode as of late. Not only was he selling stocks, he was also hoarding a record level of cash. Berkshire’s cash pile, mainly parked in short-term Treasury bills, hit $157.2 billion at the end of September thanks to a surge in bond yields. Berkshire has also asked the SEC to keep the details of one or more of its stock holdings confidential.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire trimming holdings, keeping new stock secret
