Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway made notable adjustments to its investment portfolio in the second quarter, acquiring stakes in Ulta Beauty and Heico while significantly reducing its massive holding in Apple.
As of June 30, Berkshire owned approximately 690,000 shares of Ulta Beauty, valued at $266.3 million, and 1.04 million shares of Heico, worth $185.4 million. The announcement led to a 14% surge in Ulta Beauty shares and a 3% rise in Heico shares during after-hours trading, indicating investor confidence in these companies following Berkshire’s involvement.
While it remains unclear if Buffett himself was behind these acquisitions, the portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler typically manage Berkshire’s smaller stock investments. Heico’s Co-President, Eric Mendelson, expressed honor in Berkshire’s investment, noting the alignment in decentralized business models between the two companies.
Berkshire’s latest moves contrast with its overall strategy during the quarter, which saw the company selling off $77.2 billion in stocks, including nearly halving its stake in Apple by offloading around 390 million shares. Despite these sales, Apple is expected to remain Berkshire’s largest stock holding by the year’s end. Other sales included investments in Snowflake and Paramount Global.
Berkshire’s cash reserves swelled to $276.9 billion, up from $189 billion at the end of March. The company has not disclosed further sales of Apple stock but did halt its sale of Bank of America shares after a 12% price drop.
In addition to these transactions, Berkshire also reduced its stakes in Capital One, Floor & Decor Holdings, Louisiana-Pacific, and T-Mobile, while increasing its positions in Chubb and Sirius XM.