Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Apple during the second quarter, further paring its position in the iPhone maker, while adding UnitedHealth Group to its portfolio.
The Omaha, Neb., company disclosed its stockholdings in a regulatory filing on Thursday. In aftermarket trading, shares of UnitedHealth, the tarnished health insurer, jumped by more than 9%. Apple was little changed.
Berkshire sold 20 million shares of Apple in the June quarter, marking the first time it reduced its stake in the consumer-electronics giant since last year. Apple remains the company’s largest holding, and Buffett praised its chief executive officer at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May.
Apple shares recently traded at about 30 times its projected earnings over the next 12 months, according to FactSet. The stock has slipped 7% this year.
UnitedHealth, once a healthcare stalwart, has struggled in the midst of a litany of challenges, including a pullback in Medicare funding, the shooting death of a top executive, and controversies over its business practices. In May, Chairman Stephen Hemsley returned to his former role as CEO to help engineer a turnaround.
UnitedHealth’s shares have lost more than half their value in the past year. “Yes, the headlines are scary, but there may be brighter days ahead,” said Darren Pollock, portfolio manager at Cheviot Value Management, which owns shares of Berkshire.
Berkshire also revealed in Thursday’s filing that it added positions in Allegion, Lamar Advertising, Nucor, D.R. Horton and Lennar’s Class A shares. It maintained its position in Kraft Heinz. In the second quarter, Buffett’s conglomerate had written down its investment in Kraft Heinz by $3.8 billion, after taxes, following Berkshire representatives’ decision to exit from the food company’s board and reports earlier this year that Kraft is exploring a spinoff.
Berkshire also drew down its position in Bank of America and shed all of its remaining T-Mobile shares. The company modestly increased its stakes in Chevron, Domino’s Pizza, Pool and Constellation Brands, whose products include Modelo and Corona beers.
Berkshire was a net seller of stocks in the second quarter, unloading $6.92 billion of equity securities while buying $3.9 billion, according to its financial statements.
It has continued to stockpile cash, and refrain from repurchasing its own shares, in the midst of the market’s recent record-breaking rally. The cash trove grew to $344 billion, including equivalents, at the end of June, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
Institutional investors managing at least $100 million in U.S. stocks and certain other equities must disclose their holdings at the end of each quarter in Form 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Form 13Fs provide an outdated look at stock portfolios, since investors have 45 days to submit the filings. Nevertheless, Berkshire’s disclosures are widely parsed by market participants seeking insight into the company’s investing deputies’ recent moves.
Berkshire’s Class B shares have added 5.7% this year, below the S&P 500’s 10% gain.
Buffett is set to pass the baton as Berkshire’s CEO to Greg Abel at year’s end. He will remain chairman.