Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) holding company dumped its stock of Canadian gold producer Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) (NYSE:GOLD) a few months after purchasing the shares.
In its latest filing with U.S. securities regulators, Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it exited its position in Barrick Gold. The investment in a gold producer was a surprise when it was revealed last summer as Buffett has spent years criticizing the precious metal as an "unproductive asset."
Berkshire Hathaway also revealed that it trimmed its stake in Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6% during the last few months of 2020, and bought stock in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) , insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos (NYSE:MMC). and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX).
The Apple reduction left Berkshire with a holding valued at $120 billion U.S. at the end of 2020. Berkshire spent the last three months of the year revamping its bets on sectors other than technology.
Buffett’s conglomerate cut a few bank holdings, exiting JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and M&T Bank Corp. while slashing its Wells Fargo & Co. stake by 59%.
The company also shifted a recent bet on drug makers by increasing its stake in Merck & Co Inc., Abbvie Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., while exiting a recent investment in Pfizer Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio is closely followed by investors given Warren Buffett’s successful track record of outperforming the S&P 500 stock market index.
