Berkshire Hathaway ramps up buybacks as cash pile keeps growing

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., sitting on a cash pile of more than $114 billion, spent the first quarter snapping up more of its own stock.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate repurchased $1.7 billion of shares as the stock dipped in the first quarter. That was more than the $1.3 billion that Berkshire, which historically has preferred using its cash on equities or acquisitions, spent all of last year after relaxing its policy on buybacks.

Buffett has been prepping shareholders for the possibility of more stock buybacks, a move he’s largely shunned throughout his more than six-decade career. As Berkshire has grown into