Billionaire Warren Buffett sold a third of IBM shares and linked his decision to the strong competition that the IT company faces.

"I do not evaluate IBM in the same way as six years ago when I started buying shares. I reconsidered my assessment in the direction of a certain drop, "- said Buffett in an interview with CNBC.

According to the businessman, the value of IBM shares was below expectations, and the company "faced quite strong competitors". Who these companies, Buffett did not specify.

The investment company Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, began buying up IBM shares in 2011. At some point Berkshire's share in IBM reached $ 13 billion. By the end of 2016, Berkshire had 81 million shares of IBM, and this year this number fell by 30 million units. Now the company has stopped selling securities, said Warren Buffett.

IBM shares went up by 21% in 2016, but since the beginning of 2017 they have fallen in price by 4%, while the S & P 500 index, to which the company belongs, has increased by 6.7%. By the close of the exchange on Friday, May 5, IBM quotes fell 2.5%.

Earlier, Moody's agency downgraded IBM's credit rating from A1 to Aa3 and explained this decision with the problems that the "blue giant" is facing on the way to becoming a cloud company. In addition, IBM revenue is reduced for 20 quarters in a row.