Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in iPhone maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) by over US3bn in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to a regulatory filing.
Berkshire now holds shares worth over US$137bn in Apple, or around 5.8% of the company. It remains Berkshire’s single largest equity investment.
The holding represents 39% of disclosed assets for the fourth quarter while Berkshire also received a US$210.6mln dividend from Apple.
At the same time, Berkshire cut its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of Apple’s most important supply chain partners.
TSMC is the chip fabricator on all of the Apple silicon chips used in iPhone, Mac, iPad, and more.
According to the filings Berkshire reduced its stake in TSMC by 86%, from 60mln shares down to 8.29mln shares valued at US$617.7mln.
Overall, Berkshire only increased its holdings in three companies: Apple, Paramount, and construction materials company Louisiana-Pacific.