With less than 10% of the shares remaining in the Chinese electric car manufacturer BYD, Warren Buffett’s company is continuing to sell off its BYD stock in the business.
In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, Berkshire Hathaway disclosed the most recent sale of 1.96 million BYD shares, valued at around $58.9 million ($462 million Hong Kong dollars). Though it still holds more than 108 million shares, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate’s holdings are less than half of what they were when they started selling in August—225 million shares.
Buffett was not questioned about it at Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday, and he has not yet provided an explanation for why he has been selling stock in a company that he has previously praised so highly. However, Buffett usually stays silent about the stocks he buys or sells while making those decisions.
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The company has expanded to become one of the largest producers of electric cars worldwide since Berkshire originally purchased its BYD shares in 2008 for $225 million. As a result, its stock price has skyrocketed to $240 Hong Kong dollars ($30.58 US dollars) per share. Nearly 1.9 million BYD vehicles, including plug-ins, hybrids, and pure electrics, were sold last year.
Before it began to sell, Berkshire’s initial investment in the Shenzhen, southern China-based company was valued at over $9.5 billion (about $74.6 billion in Hong Kong dollars) in July of last year. Berkshire’s remaining assets are still worth more than $3.3 billion (about $26 billion in Hong Kong dollars) even after all the stock transactions.
Berkshire is only required by disclosure laws to disclose when its ownership share drops by another percentage point. Berkshire still held 10.9% of BYD, or 119.7 million shares, at the time of its most recent filing. In addition to BYD, Berkshire owns a substantial portfolio of US equities valued at over $300 billion, which is dominated by its $159 billion holding in Apple. It also contains substantial holdings of Coca-Cola, American Express, and Bank of America stock.
Berkshire owns dozens of firms outright in addition to investments, including the BNSF railroad, Geico insurance, many major utilities, and a variety of manufacturing and retail industries like Precision Castparts, Dairy Queen, and Helzberg Diamonds.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy BYD stock?
How can I purchase BYD Company? Open a commission-free brokerage account with Robinhood to purchase or sell BYD Company stock and options. There can be additional costs.
Is BYD publicly listed?
BYD Company Ltd.
With its headquarters located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, (Chinese: 比亚迪股份有限公司) is a Chinese conglomerate manufacturing firm that is publicly listed. In February 1995, Wang Chuanfu started it.
Is BYD a EV stock?
Chinese EV manufacturer BYD manufactures trucks, buses, monorails, and hybrid and battery-electric passenger cars.
Does Warren Buffett invest in BYD?
Customers of its include Huawei, Xiaomi, Apple, and Dell. Approximately 6% of BYD, which came in first, is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Why did Buffett sell BYD stock?
Though the two legends made disparaging remarks about Musk, Berkshire’s continuous sale of BYD is probably more about pocketing the money and moving it to another place than it is about not wanting to take on Musk in the EV market.
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