Billionaire Warren Buffett Buys More Apple, Sells Shares of Wal-Mart

Berkshire Hathaway Reduces Stake in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

– Shares Owned by Berkshire Hathaway (as of June 30): 40.23 Million

– Value of Berkshire Hathaway (as of June 30): $2.94 Billion

Berkshire Hathaway owned 40.23 million shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) at the end of the second quarter, approximately 15.01 million shares less than at the end of the first quarter of the year. The reduced position was valued at $2.94 billion on June 30 and accounted for 2.3% of Berkshire Hathaway’s equity portfolio. In early August, Wal-Mart Stores agreed to buy e-commerce startup Jet.com Inc. for $3 billion in cash and $300 million worth of Wal-Mart shares, which will be paid over time. The multi-billion-dollar deal is intended to inject new dynamism into the retail giant’s e-commerce operations, as Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s fast-growing e-commerce empire poses a serious threat to Wal-Mart Stores. Although Wal-Mart is among the biggest players in the U.S. e-commerce arena, the company has been struggling to keep pace with e-commerce giant Amazon. Wal-Mart’s e-commerce sales jumped a mere 7% year-on-year in the latest quarter, whereas the overall U.S. e-commerce market rose by approximately 15%. Wal-Mart shares are up 19% so far in 2016. Adage Capital Management, founded by Phillip Gross and Robert Atchinson, has 3.03 million shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) among its holdings as of June 30.

Disclosure: None