Warren Buffett’s Berkshire almost halves stake in PC maker HP

BILLIONAIRE investor Warren Buffett’s firm Berkshire Hathaway has cut its holding in personal computer maker HP by half.

Berkshire held 51.5 million shares, or 5.2 per cent of the Palo Alto, California-based company on Nov 30, according to a regulatory filing. That’s down from about 97.85 million shares on Oct 3, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The transaction puts Berkshire on track to be a seller in HP for a second consecutive quarter, Bloomberg-compiled data shows.

HP’s shares have underperformed those of rival Dell Technologies as demand for personal computers cratered in the post-pandemic bust. Sales for both HP and Dell shrank in the latest quarter and lagged behind analyst estimates.

Still, Dell’s stock has risen 72 per cent this year to outperform the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 48 per cent advance and HP’s 13 per cent gain.

Berkshire’s holding in HP is worth about US$1.56 billion based on the stock’s closing price on Monday (Dec 11). BLOOMBERG