Berkshire Hathaway significantly expanded its stake in Alphabet, Google's parent company, and increased its investments in U.S. homebuilders during the second quarter. The conglomerate also continued to reduce its holdings in financial companies and divested its entire stake in Constellation Brands.
According to the company's latest portfolio filing, Berkshire Hathaway acquired approximately 48.1 million shares of Alphabet between April and June, bringing its total holdings to roughly 106 million shares. This stake was valued at approximately $37.76 billion as of June 30. This marks a substantial increase from the 17.8 million Alphabet shares worth $5.6 billion that Berkshire held at the end of December. Alphabet has announced plans to raise $80 billion to fund the computing infrastructure necessary for its artificial intelligence initiatives.
In addition to its increased focus on technology, Berkshire Hathaway bolstered its investments in the U.S. housing sector. The company increased its stake in homebuilder Lennar by nearly 30% and initiated a new, smaller position in D.R. Horton, valued at $580,504 at the end of June. This activity follows Berkshire's acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison for $6.8 billion in July.
Berkshire also increased its stakes in Delta Air Lines and Macy's during the second quarter. The holdings in Delta Air Lines were valued at about $5.37 billion, and the stake in Macy's was worth approximately $173 million as of June 30.
The conglomerate trimmed its holdings in several other companies, including Kroger, Nucor, and DaVita. It also sold all of its 632,890 shares in beverage company Constellation Brands.
Investments in financial companies were also reduced. Berkshire's stakes in Bank of America and Ally Financial saw decreases of around 6% and 6.9%, respectively. The company also significantly reduced its stake in Capital One Financial by 58%.
Berkshire Hathaway, led by CEO Greg Abel since the start of the year, has historically seen its investment moves closely watched by market participants. Warren Buffett remains the company's chairman and largest shareholder.