Warren Buffett was a net seller of stocks in Q2

Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) is in focus today after reporting a 6.0% year-on-year increase in its second-quarter operating earnings after taxes to a record $10 billion.

Notable figures in Berkshire’s Q2 update

• Swung to an overall profit of $35.9 billion versus $43.6 billion of loss a year ago
• Operating EPS (Class A) went up 8.0% to $6,928 versus $5,576 expected
• Ended the second quarter with $147 billion in cash and cash equivalents
• Saw asset base hit a prominent milestone of surpassing $1.0 trillion

Berkshire attributed much of the strength in the recently concluded quarter to an uptick in insurance underwriting and investment income. Still, Cathy Seifert of CFRA Research said today on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”:

Berkshire repurchased less of its stock in Q2

The multinational conglomerate repurchased $1.4 billion worth of its stock in Q2 – up significantly from $1.0 billion a year ago but down significantly from $4.4 billion in Q1.

The sequential decline realised primarily because Warren Buffett is price sensitive when it comes to buying back shares. Berkshire stock was in an uptrend in the second quarter and is now trading at an all-time high. CFRA’s Seifert added:

Berkshire continued to trim its stake further in Chevron Corp in the second quarter, as per the press release. Buffett was a net seller of stocks – offloading about $8.0 billion worth of them in Q2.