Who's finding value in Apple at these levels? Maybe Warren Buffett

Published Fri, May 20 202211:19 AM EDTUpdated Fri, May 20 202211:36 AM EDT

Apple shares have fallen to their lowest level in a year during the latest market turmoil. Are they cheap enough yet for Warren Buffett, the tech giant's second biggest investor, to buy more? Shares of the iPhone maker have dropped more than 20% this year. At its lowest level this week, the megacap stock fell to its most depressed level since early July 2021 on an intraday basis. It could be possible that the "Oracle of Omaha" is picking up more of his No.1 stock during the recent rout. Just three weeks ago, Berkshire Hathaway's CEO and chairman revealed at his annual shareholding meeting in Omaha that he had added to his gigantic Apple holding during the recent sell-off. "We actually bought a little more Apple. In the first quarter or so we decided we wanted to own a greater interest," Buffett told shareholders during a Q & A. Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick then that he scooped up $600 million worth of Apple shares following a three-day decline in the stock last quarter, adding that he would have added more if the stock didn’t rebound. Berkshire began buying Apple stock in 2016 under the influence of Buffett's investing deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. The conglomerate has ramped up the bet over the past few years to over $100 billion, taking up about 40% of Berkshire's equity portfolio. The 91-year-old investor has made clear that he is a fan of CEO Tim Cook 's stock repurchase strategy, and how it gives Berkshire increased ownership of each dollar of the iPhone maker's earnings without the investor having to lift a finger. "...[W]e knew that we would own an even greater interest if they kept buying their shares, which we didn't have any insider information or anything but certainly would seem the way to bet," Buffett said during the shareholder meeting on April 30. "They just reported their March quarter and, you know, they earned more money and they had fewer shares outstanding." Apple authorized $90 billion in share buybacks last quarter, keeping its coveted spot as the one public company that's spending the most money purchasing its own shares. It splashed out $88.3 billion on buybacks in 2021 alone. Buffett previously called Apple one of the four "giants" in his portfolio owing to Tim Cook, and the second-most important after Berkshire's cluster of insurance investments.