Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway trims its massive stake in Apple

As investment rose to outsize share of stock portfolio, investors wondered how big Berkshire would let it grow

- Karen Langley

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway trimmed its flagship position in Apple in the fourth quarter.

Berkshire sold about 1% of its Apple shares in the final three months of 2023, leaving it with a 5.9% stake in the iPhone maker worth about $167 billion on Wednesday, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

The Apple position held by the famed investor's Omaha, Neb., company has grown to an outsize share of its more than $300 billion stock portfolio. As the tailwinds of the tech trade pushed Apple shares higher, investors who follow the company have wondered how much bigger Buffett and his deputies would allow the position to grow.

Apple shares have soared 367% since the end of 2018, while the S&P 500 has about doubled. Buffett praised Apple at Berkshire's annual meeting last year, saying "it just happens to bea better business than any we own." Apple shares, however, haven't kept pace with those of some of its Big Tech peers in recent months. The company lost its crown as the U.S.'s most valuable company to Microsoft earlier this year. Apple has faced a slew of challenges, including regulatory scrutiny of its App Store policies, declining sales in China and investor worries about its growth prospects. Several analysts have downgraded the stock.

Apple shares are down more than 4% in 2024 and slipped 0.9% in afterhour trading.