Berkshire Hathaway’s moves fuel doubts of a financial crisis: The company now has 5.2 billion uninvested
How is Warren Buffett moving? And why are his latest moves causing controversy? According to the latest filings, Berkshire Hathaway bought shares of Domino’s Pizza and Pool Corp.
Buffett, founder of the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate, acquired about 1.3 million shares of the pizza retailer, giving Berkshires a 3.6% stake worth a 0 million. Meanwhile, the Pool Corp. deal, a wholesale distributor of swimming pool equipment, is valued at about 3 million, for a 1% stake.
Meanwhile, company sold most of its shares of cosmetics retailer , a stake it originally acquired in the previous quarter. That move sent Ulta Beauty’s stock tumbling. Meanwhile, Domino’s and Pool’s stocks jumped more than 7% in the immediate aftermath of the news. The 94-year-old investment guru, whose moves are widely followed and imitated by his devoted followers, has trimmed some of his top holdings in recent months, cutting his investment in Apple by about 25% and his investment in Bank of America (now below the 10% threshold).
The Apple stock sales reduced Berkshire’s allocation to the tech sector by about 3%. O Combined with no share repurchases in the quarter, the sales pushed Berkshire’s cash to a record 5.2 billion.
“We’d love to spend it,” Buffett told shareholders about his cash hoarding in May, “but we won’t spend it unless we think we’re doing something that has minimal risk and can make us a lot of money.” Words that still sound enigmatic today in the face of a looming financial crisis.