Buffett slashes insurance holdings, completely exits 7 companies in Q3

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. substantially cut its stake in three insurance-focused corporations and completely exited its positions in seven other companies during the third quarter.

The Warren Buffett-led conglomerate shaved its holdings in Aon PLC, Markel Group Inc. and Globe Life Inc. by 5.4%, 66.3% and 67%, respectively, according to the conglomerate's latest Form 13F.

As of Sept. 30, Berkshire held 4,100,000 shares in Aon, which were valued at about $1.33 billion, while its stake in Markel stood at 158,718 shares, worth roughly $233.7 million. The conglomerate's remaining 831,014 shares in Globe Life were valued at approximately $90.4 million at the end of the quarter.

Numerous exits

Berkshire completely disposed of its holdings in seven companies in the quarter, the largest of which was its position in Activision Blizzard Inc.

The exit from Activision reflects a sharp reversal from its 2022 approach, when it bolstered its stake in the video game developer amid a takeover bid by Microsoft Corp. But with a price tag of roughly $75 billion, the deal took 21 months to get through global regulators and did not close until just recently. The purchase represents the biggest deal in Microsoft's history.

Berkshire sold 14,658,121 shares of Activision during the third quarter, which had been valued at about $1.24 billion as of June 30. The second-largest position that the conglomerate dropped was General Motors Co., shedding 22,000,000 shares worth roughly $848.3 million as of the end of June.

Buffett also added a quirkier venture to his list of investments by picking up a small initial stake in the Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc., which is comprised of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, plus affiliated media and other properties around the team.

Berkshire's position of 223,465 shares in Atlanta Braves Holdings was valued at roughly $8 million as of the end of the third quarter.