Berkshire Hathaway cut Apple stake to have 'margin of safety'

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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A) trimmed its stake in Apple (AAPL) by over 50% at the beginning of August. Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and Scharf Investments managing director Eric Lynch joins Market Domination to discuss the move and what the firm may do with the cash.

Lynch explains that consumers and investors shouldn't be concerned about the move. Rather, he sees it as a testament to Buffett's commitment to having a margin of safety: "Look, it's a great company, but he bought it in 2016 at 10 times earnings. He's cut it over half when it's been trading above 30 times earnings. It hasn't moved its sales and its operating income level on the aggregate in almost three years, so he's worried about the margin of safety there."

He adds that with this new cash flow, Buffett is "finding places to play," but ultimately is "waiting for better valuation." Lynch notes that Berkshire recently bought Chubb (CB), an insurance company, explaining that insurance premiums are increasing about 10% yearly. In addition, Buffett has identified several lucrative opportunities in Japan.

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl