Warren Buffett Just Sent Wall Street a $174 Billion Warning. Here's What Investors Absolutely Must Know.
Warren Buffett has led Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) for six decades, during which he turned what began as a small textile mill into a trillion-dollar conglomerate. Berkshire stock has returned 20% annually since Buffett took control in 1965, due in large part to savvy acquisitions and prudent investments.Buffett has traditionally been a net buyer -- meaning the value of stock he purchased has usually exceeded the value of stock he sold for Berkshire -- but he was actually a net seller during the last 10 quarters. Specifically, Berkshire bought $31 billion and sold $205 billion in stock over that period, bringing net sales to $174 billion.Interestingly, the trend continued in the first quarter even though the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) dropped into correction territory. In fact, Berkshire ended the quarter with a record $348 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. So, not only have Berkshire's net stock sales totaled $174 billion in the last 10 quarters, but also the company is currently sitting on a record cash pile.Continue reading
Warren Buffett has led Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) for six decades, during which he turned what began as a small textile mill into a trillion-dollar conglomerate. Berkshire stock has returned 20% annually since Buffett took control in 1965, due in large part to savvy acquisitions and prudent investments.
Buffett has traditionally been a net buyer -- meaning the value of stock he purchased has usually exceeded the value of stock he sold for Berkshire -- but he was actually a net seller during the last 10 quarters. Specifically, Berkshire bought $31 billion and sold $205 billion in stock over that period, bringing net sales to $174 billion.
Interestingly, the trend continued in the first quarter even though the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) dropped into correction territory. In fact, Berkshire ended the quarter with a record $348 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. So, not only have Berkshire's net stock sales totaled $174 billion in the last 10 quarters, but also the company is currently sitting on a record cash pile.
