Over what is now four straight quarters of reductions, Berkshire has sold 615.6 million shares, a reduction of 67.2% from the 915.6 million shares it held on September 30 of last year.
Over the same period, Apple's stock price has gone from $171.21 to $233.00, a 36% gain, so it appears Berkshire has left some money on the table.
But its average purchase price of about $35 per share means it has also locked in a very substantial profit (and a substantial tax bill.)
The remaining shares are still Berkshire's biggest equity holding with a value of $66.9 billion, which is about 23% of the portfolio's total value.
American Express is #2 at $41.3 billion and Bank of America is #3 at $32.0 billion.
During the third quarter, Berkshire's already enormous cash pile increased by 17% to a record $325.2 billion.
That's substantially more than the equity portfolio's value of roughly $285 billion. It is presumably the first time that has happened.
Is Buffett worried about the health of the stock market or U.S. economy? Is he preparing to do a really, really big acquisition? Was the Apple position just too big? Is it all to avoid a potential future increase in capital gains taxes?
We just don't know.
