Berkshire Hathaway Makes Alphabet Its No. 3 Holding After 48M Share Buy

• The firm, however, sold its remaining stake in Constellation Brands and bought a small position in D.R. Horton. 
• Apple remained the top holding by value, followed by American Express, the enlarged Alphabet stake, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America. 
• Berkshire’s Bank of America position was cut by 30.2 million shares in the quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) loaded on selective technology names while pruning financial holdings in the second quarter, according to the company’s latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The firm sharply boosted its Alphabet holding by roughly 48 million shares, added millions more to Delta Air Lines (DAL), and opened a tiny new position in homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI), while fully exiting Constellation Brands (STZ) and trimming its Bank of America position by 30 million shares. 

The equity portfolio rose to about $299 billion as of the end of June from $263 billion at the end of the first quarter, reflecting continued activity under CEO Greg Abel. 

Abel took over as Berkshire’s chief executive on January 1, succeeding Warren Buffett.

Biggest Additions And Fresh Positions 

According to the firm’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire lifted the combined GOOGL and GOOG position to about 106 million shares as of Q2-end. Delta Air Lines holdings rose by 17.5 million shares. Smaller adds included Macy’s, up 4.3 million shares, Lennar, up 3.1 million, and The New York Times, up 553,000 shares.

The firm, however, sold its remaining stake in Constellation Brands and bought a small position in D.R. Horton of about 3,564 shares. 

Largest Reductions

Berkshire’s Bank of America (BAC) position was cut by 30.2 million shares in the quarter. Kroger declined by 11 million shares, Capital One by 4.2 million, Nucor by 2 million, Ally Financial by 2 million, and DaVita by 1.2 million.

Apple (AAPL) remained the top holding by value as of June-end, followed by American Express, the enlarged Alphabet stake, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America. 

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BRK.B remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume was ‘extremely high.’ 

A Stocktwits user wondered why the firm is loading on Alphabet shares when it is trading at high valuations. 

Another wondered why the firm didn’t load on Elon Musk’s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX, which debuted on Nasdaq in June. 

Another user dismissed concerns about BRK.B stock, citing the firm’s long legacy.

BRK.B shares have traded flat year-to-date. 

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