Just caught something interesting in Berkshire's latest 13F filing. Looks like Warren Buffett wrapped up his final quarter as CEO by doing exactly what you'd expect from the Oracle of Omaha - dumping positions that got too expensive and quietly buying something most people probably missed.

So here's what went down. Buffett was a net seller for 13 straight quarters leading up to his Dec 31 retirement, but Q4 was particularly telling. He sold 7.7M Amazon shares (77% of the position), nearly 10.3M Apple shares (that's a 75% cut since mid-2023), and over 50M Bank of America shares. The pattern is pretty obvious when you look at valuations. Apple's P/E went from mid-teens when he bought it in 2016 to 33 now. BofA? When Berkshire backed them in 2011, the stock was trading 62% below book value. Today it's 37% above. Same story with Amazon - valuations just got out of hand.

But here's where it gets interesting. While most people focused on what Warren Buffett was selling, he made one significant new addition: over 5M shares of The New York Times for about $352M. This is classic Buffett - a brand people trust, solid digital subscription growth (12.78M subs as of year-end), and strong pricing power. The digital advertising business is also firing on all cylinders with double-digit growth.

Now, the valuation question mark is real. Buffett paid a pretty aggressive forward P/E of 24 for NYT - which is bold for someone famous for waiting for prices to make sense. But maybe that's the point. As Warren Buffett steps into retirement, he's essentially saying: I'd rather own a quality brand with real competitive advantages than overpay for mega-cap tech at any price.

The broader takeaway? When your investing legend is selling your favorite mega-caps and buying unglamorous media stocks, it might be worth asking yourself what that means for your own portfolio.