When others are greedy, I am fearful! Buffett, who is "out of sync" with the bull market
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway net sold approximately $6 billion in stocks, including Bank of America and Citigroup, and newly purchased about $1 billion in Constellation Brands. For the entire year of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway net sold approximately $133 billion in stocks. Analysts believe that Buffett has often been out of sync with the mainstream market, and this time, he may once again reap rewards; moreover, Berkshire Hathaway is the company with the largest cash reserves in the United States, providing an opportunity to deploy during a market crash
In 2024, the S&P 500 index rose by 25%, but Buffett is still selling U.S. stocks.
Recently, Berkshire Hathaway released its fourth-quarter equity holdings report for 2024, showing that the company net sold approximately $6 billion in stocks during the quarter—the selling pace has slowed down, after all, in the first three quarters of 2024, Berkshire net sold about $127 billion in stocks, most of which were Apple stocks.
Specifically, Berkshire sold about $5 billion in Bank of America shares in the fourth quarter, completely liquidating about $3 billion in Citigroup shares, leaving only about $1 billion in Citigroup stock. However, Berkshire did not sell any more Apple stocks and still holds 300 million shares.
On the buying side, it is noteworthy that in the fourth quarter, Berkshire newly purchased about $1 billion in Constellation Brands, a globally renowned multinational beverage company primarily engaged in the production and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Throughout 2024, Berkshire purchased stocks including Chubb Limited, Occidental Petroleum, Sirius XM, Domino’s Pizza, and Constellation Brands, but the purchase amounts were not particularly large.
Analysts believe that the purchases of Sirius, Domino’s, and Constellation Brands may have been made by Berkshire's investment managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, who operate independently of Buffett and manage about 10% of the equity investment portfolio—holdings of less than $3 billion are typically their investments.
Buffett is responsible for the other 90% of the investments, possibly purchasing Chubb Limited and Occidental Petroleum—Buffett holds about 30% of Occidental Petroleum shares, and Berkshire has been accumulating shares of Occidental since 2022.
Analysts believe that Buffett has often been out of sync with the mainstream market, especially during the internet bubble period in the late 1990s, but at that time, Buffett achieved success, and this time, he may achieve returns again.
Moreover, Berkshire is the company with the largest cash reserves in the U.S., possessing substantial cash reserves, providing opportunities to deploy during a market crash.
As of the time of writing, Berkshire Class A shares are priced at $719,146 per share, and year-to-date, Berkshire Class A shares have risen by 5.61%.
