Greg Abel took over as Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) (BRK.B) CEO earlier this year, and his stamp is now quite visible. The Q1 13F filing showed that Berkshire reduced its holdings of publicly traded stocks from 42 to 29. Looking at some of the notable buys, it added Macy’s (M) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) while doubling down on Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) in the March quarter.
Abel inherited a cash pile of $373 billion from the “Oracle of Omaha” and is now putting that money to work. Berkshire has announced a deal to acquire Taylor Morrison Homes Corp (TMHC) for $6.8 billion and agreed to buy $10 billion worth of Alphabet shares in a private placement. Berkshire arguably got a good deal in both these transactions, as while it is acquiring Taylor Morrison Homes for less than its tangible book value, the company would receive Alphabet shares at a discount of more than 6% over its Monday, June 1, closing price.