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Berkshire Hathaway's cash on hand reaches a record $325.2 billion

(Bloomberg) — Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s cash pile reached $325.2 billion in the third quarter, a record for the conglomerate, as Warren Buffett continued to back away from major acquisitions while reducing some of his most significant stock holdings.

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Berkshire has again reduced its stake in Apple Inc., the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said in a statement on Saturday. Its stake in the iPhone maker was valued at $69.9 billion at the end of the quarter, down from $84.2 billion in the second quarter, suggesting that Berkshire reduced its stake by about 25%.

Berkshire first disclosed its Apple stake in 2016 and as of the end of 2021 had spent $31.1 billion on the 908 million Apple shares it held.

Buffett said in May that Apple would likely remain Berkshire's largest holding, noting that tax issues were the reason for the sale. “Under the current conditions, I don't mind at all increasing the liquidity position,” he said at the annual general meeting.

“I don't think Warren Buffett was ever really comfortable with technology,” said Jim Shanahan, an analyst at Edward Jones.

Cathy Seifert, a research analyst at CFRA, said Berkshire's Apple stake is “starting to represent an outsized percentage” of its overall portfolio. “I think it made sense to lighten the exposure a little,” she said.

Net seller

Berkshire reported net stock sales of $34.6 billion in the three months ended September.

The company struggled to find ways to deploy its cash holdings because Buffett found market prices too high to find attractive offers. At the annual meeting, Buffett said Berkshire was in no hurry to spend money “unless we think we're doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money.”

Higher returns on cash holdings “raise the bar a little bit for other opportunities,” Shanahan said.

Interest and other investment income more than doubled in the conglomerate's insurance business, reaching $3.5 billion in the three months ended September.

Buffett, 94, has used some of the cash on hand to buy back some of his own shares, although even that has become more expensive recently. Berkshire shares have gained 25% this year, increasing their market value to $974.3 billion. On August 28, the market capitalization exceeded the $1 trillion mark for the first time.

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