Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its investment in Google parent Alphabet and expanded its holdings in US homebuilders during the second quarter, according to the conglomerate’s latest regulatory filing.
The Omaha-based company also reduced its positions in several financial firms and other companies during the April-June period, the filing showed.
Berkshire bought about 48.1 million additional Alphabet shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holding in the technology giant to roughly 106 million shares.
The stake was valued at about $37.76 billion as of June 30. At the end of last year, Berkshire held only around 17.8 million Alphabet shares worth about $5.6 billion.
Berkshire CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett at the start of the year, agreed in June to make a $10 billion investment in Alphabet, adding to the position Berkshire began building last year.
Alphabet has announced plans to spend $80 billion on computing infrastructure to support its artificial intelligence services.
Beyond the technology sector, Berkshire continued to increase its exposure to the US housing market.
Its investment in homebuilder Lennar rose by nearly 30% during the quarter. Berkshire also took a new, small position in D.R. Horton, which was worth about $580,504 at the end of June.
In July, Berkshire completed its $6.8 billion acquisition of homebuilder Taylor Morrison.
The conglomerate also substantially increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines and Macy’s during the quarter. Its Delta stake was valued at about $5.37 billion at the end of June, while its Macy’s investment was worth around $173 million.
At the same time, Berkshire reduced its positions in several companies, including supermarket operator Kroger, steelmaker Nucor and dialysis services provider DaVita.
It completely exited beverage company Constellation Brands, selling all 632,890 shares it held.
Berkshire also cut several financial-sector holdings. Its stakes in Bank of America and Ally Financial fell by about 6% and 6.9%, respectively, while its holding in Capital One Financial was reduced by 58%.
Investors closely monitor Berkshire’s portfolio because many have historically tried to replicate Buffett’s investment decisions.
Buffett remains Berkshire’s chairman and largest shareholder despite handing over the chief executive role to Abel at the beginning of the year.
Berkshire, which owns a wide range of businesses including insurer Geico and railroad operator BNSF, does not typically comment on its quarterly stock transactions, allowing the regulatory filings to provide the main public insight into its investment decisions.