According to a 13F filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust reduced its stake in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) by 17% or 5.93 million shares to 28.957 million shares worth £9.82 billion ($12.46 billion) in Q3.
During the same quarter, the Microsoft co-founder also sold 2.48 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B (NYSE: BRK.B) shares, reducing stake in Warren Buffett’s company by 10.08% to 22.137 million shares worth £8.03 billion ($10.19 billion).
Despite these moves, MSFT and BRK.B remain the top two holdings in Gates’ £35.47 billion ($45 billion) investment portfolio.
Microsoft Faces Antitrust Probe After String Of Security Incidents
A Crowdstrike crash earlier this year crippled millions of devices that were using Microsoft Windows systems.
At the end of last month, the US Federal Trade Commission launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI units, urging the tech giant to share details about its business practices.
Microsoft is a leading government contractor that offers cloud and software products to US agencies, such as the Department of Defense.
Given the high cloud market concentration and wide-ranging government ties, the antitrust watchdog highlighted that outages affecting a cloud provider’s services as big as MSFT could translate to a “cascading impact” on the overall economy.
The investigation will also examine Microsoft’s bundling of Office productivity software and security tools with cloud services, which makes it difficult for rivals to gain market share in the fast-growing market.
Berkshire Hathaway Shares Could Be Overvalued
Bill Gates’ decision to sell 2.48 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway in Q3 coincides with his friend Warren Buffett’s refusal to buy back shares of his own company despite having a £252.23 billion ($320 billion) cash pile.
It is the first time in six years that Buffett has made this decision, likely because he thinks his own firm is overvalued.
A company regulatory filing mentioned that the Oracle of Omaha will purchase shares when he feels the stock price is “below Berkshire’s intrinsic value, conservatively determined.”
Buffett continues to abide by his value investing rule of buying great businesses at lower prices.
Gates Buys 1M Shares of FedEx Amid Massive Restructuring
Gates purchased 1 million shares of FedEx (NYSE: FDX), increasing his stake by 65.17% to own 2.53 million shares of the leading logistics firm with an annual revenue of £69.36 billion ($88 billion).
FDX merged the FedEx Ground and FedEx Services segments into Federal Express in June. The new company operates an integrated air-ground network and witnessed strong international package volumes for the August-ended quarter.
Furthermore, FedEx’s DRIVE program to lower overheads through digitalisation and optimisation in transportation segments is expected to result in permanent cost reductions of £1.73 billion ($2.2 billion).
Overall, the company’s £4.09 billion ($5.2 billion) capital spending plan will prioritise investments in comprehensive network optimisation alongside fleet and facility modernisation through automation.
Disclaimer: Our digital media content is for informational purposes only and not investment advice. Please conduct your own analysis or seek professional advice before investing. Remember, investments are subject to market risks and past performance doesn’t indicate future returns.
