We will continue to hold Apple unless they change capital allocation: Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway’s position in Apple was at $135.4 billion, around 790 million shares in the first quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway will continue to hold Apple unless they drastically change their capital allocation, Warren Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual general meeting. Buffett's comments come after Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in Apple in the first quarter.

"Unless something drastically changes in (their) capital allocation, we will continue to have Apple", Buffett said, even as he said he doesn’t mind building cash positions under the current market conditions.

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Berkshire Hathaway’s cash positions increased to a record high of $188.99 billion from $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.

Berkshire Hathaway’s position in Apple stood at $135.4 billion, around 790 million shares in the first quarter. This marks a 13 percent decline in Berkshire’s stake. Despite this, Apple is Berkshire’s largest holding. Berkshire had sold 1 percent stake in Apple in the previous quarter as well.

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Berkshire Hathaway first invested in Apple in 2016. Buffett invested in the stock after one of his investing managers Ted Weschler or Todd Combs convinced him to buy the stock.
While Apple recorded a decline in overall sales and iPhone sales, the board had announced a $110 billion share buyback.

Buffett reiterated what his late friend Charlie Munger did to change his investment approach from buying companies at cheap prices to buying wonderful companies at fair prices. “We own American Express, Coca Cola which are wonderful businesses and Apple is also one.” He said they will keep the processes simple and don’t change much as you don’t need to learn more about investments like you need to learn about maths or physics. Buffett also said he would not attempt to predict the market while deploying capital.