Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sells majority of Goldman Sachs stake, trims JPMorgan

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold off most of its Goldman Sachs Group Inc. stake, a longtime holding that slumped nearly 33% during the first quarter as the global pandemic roiled financial markets.

The company cut its investment in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3% in the first quarter. Buffett’s company has been a big investor in banks in the past, normally trying to keep many of those stakes below a 10% level often scrutinized by regulators.

Key Insights

• The Goldman Sachs holding plunged 84% to 1.92 million shares, an investment currently valued at around $330 million, Berkshire said Friday in a filing.
• Buffett’s company exited a bet on Travelers Cos. and a wager on Phillips 66, a holding that had been valued at more than $25 million at the end of the year. Buffett’s long had ties to the oil refiner, even agreeing in 2013 to swap some shares for full ownership of a pipeline-services business.
• Berkshire cut its investment in Amazon.com Inc. by just 0.7% in the first quarter. The Amazon wager was a newer bet, disclosed in 2019 ahead of Berkshire’s annual meeting. The retailer has warned that it’s been spending more to maintain operations during the pandemic, moves that could weigh on profit.
• Berkshire did end up boosting one bank bet with an increased stake in PNC Financial Services Group Inc. In recent years, Buffett’s company has built stakes in a range of US lenders, including PNC and Bank of America Corp.
• Earlier in May, Buffett announced that Berkshire had fully exited its investments in four major US airlines.