Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained more than 2% in early morning trading Thursday after news emerged Wednesday that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B upped its stake in the technology behemoth during the fourth quarter.
According to Berkshire’s latest quarterly filing, the conglomerate increased its holdings of Apple by 23.3% over the course of the quarter. Buffett and Berkshire first took a stake in the iPhone maker in 2016 and have slowly added to it since then.
Apple shares were down about 1% on the year before Berkshire’s disclosure. The stock was dragged down in the recent market sell-off, which occurred just a few days after the company reported disappointing iPhone sales numbers (also read: Apple's First-Quarter iPhone Sales Drop 1%, Miss Estimates).
But Apple also presents a rare value opportunity in today’s tech sector, and as far as value investors go, perhaps none have been more successful than Warren Buffett. The “Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) of Omaha” has made his fortunes through long-term value investing and possesses a track record that speaks for itself.
Interestingly enough, however, Buffett may not have been the driving force behind Berkshire’s initial investment in Apple. The billionaire has never identified one specific person as being responsible for the stake, but the idea is generally credited to Berkshire’s investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
Speaking to CNBC last summer, Buffett said that he has “never sold a share” of Apple since first purchasing the stock. When asked at the time of the initial investment to explain why the choice was made, Buffett responded simply with, “Because I liked it.”
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