Warren Buffett is known for making good choices. After all, you don’t become the richest man in the world by making bad stock decisions. Which is why Berkshire Hathaway’s announcement that it had tripled its holdings in Apple, could suggest that the firm (and thus Mr. Buffett) sees strong future growth from the Cupertino giant.
Berkshire Hathaway has revealed that it held 57.35 million Apple shares at the end of fourth quarter, last year. The number is almost four times the 15.22 million shares it held near the end of third quarter. So that is somewhere around 42 million Apple shares purchased within a 3 to 4 month period. Interestingly, Berkshire is still not Apple’s largest shareholder with that distinction held by Blackrock and Vanguard.
The sale occurred within a period that wasn’t particularly good for the Cupertino giant. 2016 saw the company trip over its own feet multiple times with revenue from iPhone sale, as well as the number of phones actually sold, both mark a significant decrease. The company achieved dominance again in the last quarter — courtesy iPhone 7 and Note 7 devices. However, there wasn’t really much call to buy Apple stock for the most part of last year — which was said to have shifted from being growth to value.
And of course, Buffet is quite well known to have a soft corner for value stocks. As if to prove his decision right, Apple stock closed at a record high of $135+ today. Recently, Mr. Buffet put his hand on the wearable market, stating that it would be a safe bet for now. So yeah, don’t be surprised if you witness sudden growth in the sector before the year is out.
