Subject: Re: Todays Barron's, Buffett moves on from buy and hol
'Given the subsequent gains in many of the stocks that Berkshire unloaded, the company would have done better to keep them in its $350 billion equity portfolio.
The most notable recent example is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), or TSMC, according to Berkshire's latest 13-F filing.
In the third quarter, Berkshire bought a stake of 60 million Taiwan Semi shares, only to sell 86% of the holding in the fourth quarter to end 2022 with just 8.3 million shares, worth less than $800 million. The news of the stock sale, which occurred after the close of trading Tuesday, is dragging down Taiwan Semi stock, which slid 6.6% to $91.53 in recent Wednesday trading.
READ MORE
Charlie Munger Musings
Warren Buffett Runs Berkshire Hathaway Like It's the 1960s.
Berkshire might not have made any profit on the stock, given that the average price of Taiwan Semi averaged $72 a share in the fourth quarter, $10 less than in the third quarter. Berkshire has missed out on some nice gains so far in 2023, with TSMC up about 24% year to date. Berkshire's purchase of the stock generated a lot of excitement when it was disclosed in mid-November; Taiwan Semi stock popped more than 10% on the news. But this latest round of turnover suggests that investors may want to curb their enthusiasm about the disclosure of new Berkshire investments.'