LIVE TV
ZEE Business
ZEE BUSINESS
हिंदी में पढ़ें  हिंदी में पढ़ें
Live TV
Live TV
  • Home
  • Personal Finance
    • PPF
    • Mutual Funds
    • Income tax
    • EPFO
    • Income Tax Calculator
    • Personal Loan Calculator
    • Car Loan Calculator
    • Home Loan Calculator
    • SIP calculator
    • SWP Calculator
    • MF Returns Calculator
    • Lumpsum Calculator
  • India
    • Companies
    • Property
    • Startups
    • Uidai
  • Economy
    • Aviation
  • Tech
    • Mobiles
    • Apps
  • Auto
    • Cars
    • Bikes
  • Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currency
  • Jobs
  • Indian Railways
  • World
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Markets
  • videos
  • photos
  • Authors
  • More ...
    • VIDEOS
    • PHOTOS
Read in App
Business News » World News

Warren Buffett's Berkshire more than doubled its stake in Apple

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had done a "terrific job," Buffett said, but added he had not bought shares since the company`s earnings report. 

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
  • whatapp
  • View in App
Warren Buffett's Berkshire more than doubled its stake in Apple
At the end of Dec. 31, Berkshire had held 61.2 million shares for a total of $6.75 billion. Photo: Reuters
Written By: Reuters
Updated: Tue, Feb 28, 2017
08:00 am
New York, Reuters
RELATED NEWS
Big Warren Buffett Tip for you: Oracle of Omaha warns these investors Big Warren Buffett Tip for you: Oracle of Omaha warns these investors
The friend everyone wants! Bill Gates bakes cake for Warren Buffet’s 90th birthday, shares video The friend everyone wants! Bill Gates bakes cake for Warren Buffet’s 90th birthday, shares video
Warren Buffet sells all airline stocks, says world has changed for aviation Warren Buffet sells all airline stocks, says world has changed for aviation
Want to become rich in Coronavirus hit economy? Top 5 Warren Buffett inspired money-making tips Want to become rich in Coronavirus hit economy? Top 5 Warren Buffett inspired money-making tips
Gone! Warren Buffett ditches his Samsung flip feature phone, takes to Apple iPhone 11 Gone! Warren Buffett ditches his Samsung flip feature phone, takes to Apple iPhone 11

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC on Monday his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc had more than doubled its stake in Apple Inc. since the end of 2016, making it one of Berkshire`s biggest equity holdings, and that US stocks overall were not in "bubble territory." 

"Apple strikes me as having quite a sticky product and an enormously useful product to people that use it, not that I do," said Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. 

He said Berkshire`s Apple stake, currently at about 133 million shares, was worth about $18 billion based on Friday`s closing price and amounted to Berkshire`s second-biggest holding.

At the end of Dec. 31, Berkshire had held 61.2 million shares for a total of $6.75 billion, according to regulatory filings. Buffett said his ambitious move into Apple shares was piggybacking on the initial investment made by Buffett`s deputy investment managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook had done a "terrific job," Buffett said, but added he had not bought shares since the company`s earnings report. 

Buffett, 86, who told the cable television network that Berkshire had spent about $20 billion on stocks since just before the Nov. 8 US election, also said the US stock market was cheap with interest rates at current levels. 

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes last yielded 2.333% in morning US trading. Buffett said it was extremely difficult to attempt to find a floor in stock prices and that he did not know what would happen in the near term in the equity market. 

He said US shares could conceivably "go down 20% tomorrow." Buffett said Berkshire`s positions in airlines remained unchanged. He said pricing shares of airlines has historically been a "very tough game" and he had never met the chief executives of the four airlines in which Berkshire holds stakes. 

Berkshire reported a $9.3 billion airline stake at the end of Dec. 31, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, with investments topping $2.1 billion in each of American Airlines Group Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc, Southwest Airlines Co and United Continental Holdings Inc.

Buffett, who was a vocal supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said he would judge US President Donald Trump based on how safe the country is in four years. 

He said he would also judge the Republican president according to how the US economy performs overall and how wide participation in a better economy extends. 

Despite his disagreement with some of Trump`s policies, Buffett said the US economy would be better off in four years under any president. He said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made "a lot of sense." 

On Kraft Heinz`s snubbed bid for Unilever, Buffett said it was never intended to be a hostile offer and that there was not a "backup deal." Berkshire is a key investor in Kraft Heinz.

"Will there be another deal at Kraft Heinz some day? My guess is yes, but who knows when, I mean, there’s no backup deal, and again, it would have to be friendly and frankly, the prices in that field make it very, very, very tough to make an intelligent deal."

Asked about Berkshire`s $86 billion cash pile, he said the conglomerate was "always looking" for acquisitions but that there was "nothing close."

Buffett said it was enormously important for the US economy to have 30-year government-guaranteed mortgages, but that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not necessary in order to accomplish that.

On 30-year US Treasury bonds, Buffett said: "It absolutely baffles me who buys the 30-year bond" and that doing so was not sensible at current yields. US 30-year government bonds last yielded 2.964%. 

Buffett reiterated that Americans are better off buying plain-vanilla index funds than committing money to active managers. He added that the hedge fund industry`s standard fee structure of 2% of assets and 20% of investment gains "borders on obscene."

In an annual letter to shareholders on Saturday, Buffett slammed fee-hungry investment managers: "When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients."

Buffett praised Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as possibly the best manager he had ever seen and said Berkshire "missed big time" by not purchasing Amazon shares early on. 
He said the US economy was doing "terrific," even at just 2% growth per year. 

Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.

TAGS:
Warren BuffetWarren Buffett letter to shareholdersWarren Buffett stake in AppleAppleKraft HeinzTim CookKraft Heinz-Unilever deal
RELATED NEWS
Big Warren Buffett Tip for you: Oracle of Omaha warns these investors Big Warren Buffett Tip for you: Oracle of Omaha warns these investors
The friend everyone wants! Bill Gates bakes cake for Warren Buffet’s 90th birthday, shares video The friend everyone wants! Bill Gates bakes cake for Warren Buffet’s 90th birthday, shares video
Warren Buffet sells all airline stocks, says world has changed for aviation Warren Buffet sells all airline stocks, says world has changed for aviation
Want to become rich in Coronavirus hit economy? Top 5 Warren Buffett inspired money-making tips Want to become rich in Coronavirus hit economy? Top 5 Warren Buffett inspired money-making tips
Gone! Warren Buffett ditches his Samsung flip feature phone, takes to Apple iPhone 11 Gone! Warren Buffett ditches his Samsung flip feature phone, takes to Apple iPhone 11

LATEST NEWS

Serum Inst prices COVID-19 vaccine for pvt hospitals at Rs 600; for state govts at Rs 400

Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata invests in Mailit, a mailroom management and logistics company

PUBG update: Alert! PUBG Mobile India may release on THIS date? Here's all you need to know

Nestle India share price; Jefferies retains Hold rating with price target of Rs 18,000

Check best Ram Navami 2021 WhatsApp status, DP, stickers, GIFs, wishes, quotes, messages and greetings

ALERT! SBI names company, says beware of this fake loan provider; has it contacted you?

Haryana Schools Closed Latest News Today: Summer vacation announced early in the state due to rise in the number of COVID cases - check all details here

WhatsApp Privacy Policy: Court verdict likely on WhatsApp, Facebook in India soon- Check all details here

BSE, NSE to remain CLOSED today; next stock markets holiday in May on THIS date

Tesla strengthens India team ahead of rolling out electric cars

  • India News
  • World News
  • Companies News
  • Market News
  • Personal Finance News
  • Technology News
  • Automobile News
  • Small Business News
  • Income Tax Calculator
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Author
  • Rss Feed
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer

Latest Trending Updates

  • EPFO
  • Budget 2020
  • Income Tax Return
  • Auto Expo 2020
  • Home Loan
  • Business News

Trending Topics

  • Income Tax
  • income Tax Calculator
  • 7th Pay Commission
  • Reserve Bank of India
  • GST
  • Latest Business News

Follow us on

zeebiz
zeebiz

Partner Sites

  • Zee News
  • Hindi News
  • Marathi News
  • Bengali News
  • Tamil News
  • Malayalam News
  • Gujarati News
  • Telugu News
  • Kannada News
  • DNA
  • WION
Copyright © Zee Media Corporation Ltd. All rights reserved