Folks who follow which stocks Warren Buffett is buying and selling just got something of a shock.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) (opens in new tab), of which Buffett serves as chairman and CEO, sold off most of its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM (opens in new tab)) in the fourth quarter.
Given that Buffett (or co-portfolio manager Ted Weschler or Todd Combs) initiated the TSM stake only a quarter earlier, it's understandable if investors who copied the move have a brutal case of whiplash.
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After all, Buffett is famous for saying that his favorite holding period for a stock is "forever (opens in new tab)." When Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it bought 60.1 million shares in TSM in the third quarter of 2022, it was only natural for folks to assume this was a long-term bet on the world's largest pure-play semiconductor foundry.
Cut to today, however, and Buffett appears to have had an abrupt change of mind. Berkshire slashed its TSM holdings by 86%, or 51.8 million shares, in Q4, according to regulatory filings. The semiconductor stock now accounts for just 0.2% of Berkshire's total portfolio value, down from 1.4% a quarter ago, when it was a top 10 holding.
If nothing else, Berkshire probably did make a small profit on the TSM trade.
Moving on. As much as the TSM sales dominated the news about which stocks Warren Buffett is buying and selling, it was hardly the only big change he made to Berkshire's portfolio in Q4.
In a move that should surprise no one, Berkshire once again cut its investment in U.S. Bancorp (USB (opens in new tab)), this time by 91%, or 71.1 million shares.
Recall that Buffett slashed the USB position by 56% in November – and that he's been getting out of big bank stocks for years – and the USB sales were almost telegraphed. The regional bank, which was a top 11 holding as of the end of the third quarter, is now an almost immaterial part of BRK.B's equity portfolio.
A similar fate befell Bank of New York Mellon (BK (opens in new tab)). Here, too, Berkshire cut its investment once again, this time by 59%, or 37.1 million shares, in Q4. The custodian bank now has a weight of 0.4% in Berkshire's stock portfolio, down from 0.8% in Q3.
Other moves included modest parings of Berkshire's positions in Activision Blizzard (ATVI (opens in new tab)), -12%; McKesson (MKC (opens in new tab)), -10%; Chevron (CVX (opens in new tab)), -1%; Kroger (KR (opens in new tab)), less than -1%; and Ally Financial (ALLY (opens in new tab)), less than -1%.
As for the other side of the ledger of stocks Warren Buffett is buying and selling? Things were very quiet in Q4.
Berkshire added to its stake in Louisiana-Pacific (LPX (opens in new tab)) by 21%, or 1.2 million shares. With a total of 7 million shares worth $417.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2022, LPX is a tiny bet for Berkshire.
Berkshire also upped its stake in Paramount Global (PARA (opens in new tab)) in Q4, by 2%, or 2.4 million shares. The media company is now Berkshire's 18th largest holding.
Lastly, Berkshire's stake in Apple (AAPL (opens in new tab)) rose by 333,856 shares, or less than 1%. But Warren Buffett didn't go shopping for more of his favorite stock. Rather, the Apple stock became Berkshire's property once it acquired Alleghany insurance company.
Have a look at all the stocks Warren Buffett has bought over the years by checking out the full Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio.
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