After decades of vocally avoiding the tech sector, America’s most famous investor has abandoned that policy in a very big way.
In an interview with CNBC on Monday morning that covered a wide range of topics, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett revealed he has been aggressively buying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares since the beginning of the year.
Berkshire Hathaway has listed Apple as a holding for nearly a year now, with the conglomerate first disclosing a position in the tech giant in May 2016. Most observers credited that original purchase to one of Buffett’s key lieutenants, either Todd Combs or Ted Weschler.
Berkshire Hathaway had approximately $7 billion invested in Apple at the end of 2016. As of today, that position has more than doubled to $18 billion, making Apple Berkshire’s second-largest holding after Coca-Cola. Berkshire’s 2.5% stake in Apple makes it one of the tech giant’s five largest shareholders.
Buffett had nothing but praise for Apple, saying "Apple strikes me as having quite a sticky product, and an enormously useful product to people that use it." In other words, it has a sustainable competitive advantage -- or moat -- that can weather competitive pressures.
Buffett also said he was no longer buying Apple shares, saying the valuation has gotten a little rich for his liking. These comments were likely why Apple shares reacted to the news with a collective yawn, heading up just 0.35% to $137.13 in early afternoon trading.
