Warren Buffett did something weird with his Apple stock

Coincidence or deliberate plan? Warren Buffett now owns the same number of shares apple As he does coca cola After cutting the technology share in half.

Many Buffett followers made a curious observation after the regulatory filing 13-F filed Wednesday night revealed Berkshire HathawayThe data showed that Buffett's stake in Apple and Coca-Cola stocks amounted to 400 million shares, which is Buffett's oldest and longest stake in the two companies' stocks.

This has led some to believe that the Oracle of Omaha has finished selling his stake in the iPhone maker.

“If Buffett likes round numbers, he may not be planning to sell any more Apple shares,” says David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Just as Coca-Cola is a ‘permanent’ share of Buffett’s stock, Apple may be too.”

The legendary 93-year-old investor first bought 14,172,500 shares of Coca-Cola in 1988 and increased his stake over the next few years to 100 million shares by 1994. Thus, the investor kept his stake in Coca-Cola constant at the same number of round shares for 30 years.

Thanks to two 2-for-1 stock splits in 2006 and 2012, Berkshire's stake in Coca-Cola became 400 million shares.

Buffett said he discovered the popular soft drink when he was just six years old. In 1936, Buffett began buying six-packs of Coca-Cola at a time for 25 cents each from the family grocery store and selling them around the neighborhood for an extra five cents. Buffett said he then realized the product's “extraordinary consumer appeal and commercial potential.”

Apple share cut

Investing in leading technology companies like Apple would seem to defy long-held investment principles espoused by Buffett, but the famous investor treated it like a consumer products company like Coca-Cola, not a technology investment.

Buffett has praised the iPhone’s loyal customer base, saying people will give up their cars before they give up their smartphones. He even called Apple the second most important company after Berkshire’s insurance conglomerate.

So it came as a shock to some people when it was revealed that Berkshire Hathaway had given up more than 49% of its stake in the iPhone maker in the second quarter.

Many have speculated that it was part of portfolio management or a broader market outlook, rather than a judgment on Apple’s future prospects. The sale has reduced Apple’s weighting in Berkshire’s portfolio to about 30% from about 50% at the end of last year.

With it settling at that round number, it appears to be in a position that Buffett would prefer for his most valuable and longest-held stocks.

However, some have said it may just be a coincidence.

“I don’t think Buffett thinks that way,” said Bill Stone, chief investment officer of Glenview Trust and a Berkshire shareholder.

But at Berkshire's annual meeting in May, Buffett compared the two and suggested that the holding period for both was unlimited.

“We own Coca-Cola, which is a great company,” Buffett said. “And we own Apple, which is a better company, and we will own it, unless something really extraordinary happens, and we will own Apple, American Express and Coca-Cola.”