Berkshire Hathaway Reduces Holding in TSMC and Increases Holdings in Apple inc.

In the fourth quarter, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc reduced its holdings in Taiwanese contract chipmaker TSMC as well as some banks, while increasing its holdings in Apple Inc.

According to a regulatory filing, Berkshire reduced its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) by 86.2 percent to 8.29 million sponsored American depositary shares.

This comes roughly three months after Berkshire announced it had purchased more than $4.1 billion in TSMC stock, sending the world's largest contract chipmaker's stock soaring.

TSMC depository receipts fell 4% in after-hours trading in the United States on Tuesday. As Asian markets opened on Wednesday, TSMC shares were down 3.3% in Taiwan.

Depositary shares in TSMC, which did not respond immediately to a request for comment, have risen nearly 32% this year, closing at $97.96 on Tuesday.

"On TSMC, Berkshire made a small profit. Berkshire's victory was not a huge one "CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert stated. Berkshire purchased it for approximately $68.5 and sold it for $74.5, according to her calculations.

It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for Berkshire to reverse a multibillion-dollar investment in a company's stock so quickly. Berkshire sold nearly all of its $8.3 billion stake in Verizon Communications Inc that it had acquired in late 2020 in the first quarter of 2022.

TSMC said last month that revenue in the first quarter is likely to fall 5% as the chip industry experiences a global downturn due to softening consumer demand for electronics. According to TSMC executives, market conditions will not improve until the second half of the year.

Aside from TSMC, Buffett reduced his stake in US Bancorp by 91.4 percent, to 6.7 million shares, and reduced his stake in BNY Mellon by roughly 60%, to 25.1 million shares. At current prices, both cuts total nearly $5.5 billion.

Buffett's holdings also include Citigroup Inc, Bank of America, and Jefferies.

Berkshire reduced its stakes in several publicly traded companies in the United States, including Chevron, Activision Blizzard, the maker of the video game "Call of Duty," and Kroger.

Microsoft Corp is attempting to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft will defend the deal in a closed hearing before European Union and national antitrust officials on February 21.

Apple is one of Berkshire's few new additions, which Buffett sees as more of a consumer goods company. According to the filing, Berkshire purchased another 20.8 million Apple shares worth $3.2 billion, bringing its stake to 5.8 percent.

This year, Apple's stock has risen nearly 18%.

Berkshire also disclosed a $84 million investment in building materials company Louisiana-Pacific Corp.