Warren Buffett’s Berkshire trimming holdings, keeping new stock secret
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold a number of stocks last quarter during the volatile market, according to a new regulatory filing. The Omaha-based conglomerate dumped its remaining $780 million stake in General Motors , a stock Berkshire has been trimming for a few quarters. Berkshire also sold its $650 million stake in materials company Celanese , while exiting smaller positions in United Parcel Service , Johnson & Johnson , Mondelez International and Procter & Gamble. Meanwhile, Berkshire trimmed its stakes in Amazon and Aon slightly, the filing showed. These holdings were still worth more than $1 billion each at the end of September, however. The conglomerate was also downsizing its top bets HP and Chevron . Some of these moves, especially ones involving smaller positions, could have been done by Buffett's investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who each manage about $15 billion for Berkshire. It was previously revealed that Berkshire was a net seller of publicly traded stocks in the third quarter, buying $1.7 billion worth of equities while selling nearly $7 billion. The S & P 500 shed more than 3% last quarter before bouncing back this month. Besides these moves, the "Oracle of Omaha" kept his top holdings unchanged. Apple continued to be the conglomerate's biggest bet by far, with a value north of $156 billion. Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz and Moody's were also Berkshire's longtime holdings. Buffett has been in a defensive mode as of late. Not only was he selling stocks, he was also hoarding a record level of cash. Berkshire's cash pile, mainly parked in short-term Treasury bills, hit $157.2 billion at the end of September thanks to a surge in bond yields. Berkshire has also asked the SEC to keep the details of one or more of its stock holdings confidential.