Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made a substantial investment in Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, during the third quarter, while also making strategic adjustments to its portfolio. Buffett's conglomerate acquired 17.9 million shares of Alphabet, representing a 0.31% stake in the company, which was valued at approximately $4.9 billion as of the market close. This move comes as Buffett, aged 95 and planning to step down as CEO at the end of the year, seeks to utilize Berkshire's substantial cash reserves, which reached a record $382 billion at the end of the quarter. The Omaha-based conglomerate recently secured a $9.7 billion deal to acquire Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s petrochemical business and invested $1.6 billion in UnitedHealth Group Inc. Additionally, Berkshire increased its holding in Chubb Ltd. by 4.3 million shares, boosting the value of that position to $8.8 billion. However, despite these investments, Berkshire was a net seller of equities during the period, offloading $6.1 billion in stocks. The company also reduced its Apple Inc. stake by 15%, leaving it with a $60.7 billion holding as of September 30. Furthermore, Berkshire sold 37.2 million Bank of America Corp. shares, maintaining a 7.7% stake in the Wall Street firm. The conglomerate also exited its position in D.R. Horton Inc., a US home builder, while increasing its holding in Lennar Corp.
