Berkshire Beefs Up Stakes in Apple, Paramount, Louisiana-Pacific

Max Reyes, Bloomberg News

Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. Buffett said the rally in markets over the last several years has made it harder to find bargains, but that stocks remain his choice over bonds. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bulked up its investments in Apple Inc., Paramount Global and Louisiana-Pacific Corp. even as it trimmed a number of positions across its portfolio.

Paramount Global benefitted the most from Berkshire’s buying, with the conglomerate purchasing an additional 2.4 million shares worth more than $40 million as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Apple remained the company’s largest holding by market value, though the value of that position fell by $7.4 billion in the period. The Paramount stake likewise lost market value in the period, falling $156 million.

At the same time, Berkshire reduced financial holdings by selling shares in U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., and Ally Financial Inc. The company also cut back on its exposure to Activision Blizzard Inc. and chip-maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The remainder of the company’s portfolio was largely unchanged.

(Updates with details throughout.)