15-02-2011, 11:45 AM
By Andrew Frye - Feb 14, 2011
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. divested its stake in Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender by assets, as Chairman Warren Buffett took control of the portfolio previously run by his backup stock picker, Lou Simpson.
Buffett’s firm had no shares in the bank at the end of 2010, compared with 5 million shares three months earlier, Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire said today in a regulatory filing that lists the company’s U.S. stockholdings. Berkshire also eliminated its stakes in Nike Inc., Comcast Corp., Nalco Holding Co., Fiserv Inc., Lowe’s Cos. and Becton, Dickinson & Co.
Buffett, 80, is reshaping Berkshire’s stock portfolio amid changes in the company’s investment managers. Simpson, once identified by Buffett as his emergency stand in, retired late last year. Berkshire, the biggest shareholder of Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., hired former hedge fund manager Todd Combs to help Buffett with equity investments.
“Any position that Buffett was uncomfortable holding on his own will have been sold in the fourth quarter†as Simpson left, said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Berkshire added to its Wells Fargo holding in the fourth quarter.
Buffett, also Berkshire’s chief executive officer, has trimmed the stock portfolio since the 2008 financial crisis and focused on buying whole companies. In the third quarter, Berkshire eliminated stakes in Home Depot Inc., trash hauler Republic Services Inc. and Iron Mountain Inc., a provider of records management.
Railroad Investment
Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe last year for $26.5 billion to add a railroad to Berkshire’s collection of more than 70 subsidiaries in industries spanning insurance, energy and ice cream. In the last two years, the firm has cut its stockholding of Moody’s Corp. by more than a third and divested a stake in SunTrust Banks Inc.
Buffett has said Berkshire will divide his roles as head of investments and operations among more than one successor. Combs specialized in financial-services investments at hedge fund Castle Point Capital Management LLC.
Buffett has said he built his equity portfolio by buying and holding stocks of companies that he believes have durable competitive advantages. He’s held the stake in Atlanta-based Coca-Cola for more than two decades. Berkshire’s stake in San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. home lender, was worth more than $8 billion at the end of September.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. divested its stake in Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender by assets, as Chairman Warren Buffett took control of the portfolio previously run by his backup stock picker, Lou Simpson.
Buffett’s firm had no shares in the bank at the end of 2010, compared with 5 million shares three months earlier, Omaha, Nebraska- based Berkshire said today in a regulatory filing that lists the company’s U.S. stockholdings. Berkshire also eliminated its stakes in Nike Inc., Comcast Corp., Nalco Holding Co., Fiserv Inc., Lowe’s Cos. and Becton, Dickinson & Co.
Buffett, 80, is reshaping Berkshire’s stock portfolio amid changes in the company’s investment managers. Simpson, once identified by Buffett as his emergency stand in, retired late last year. Berkshire, the biggest shareholder of Coca-Cola Co. and Wells Fargo & Co., hired former hedge fund manager Todd Combs to help Buffett with equity investments.
“Any position that Buffett was uncomfortable holding on his own will have been sold in the fourth quarter†as Simpson left, said David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Berkshire added to its Wells Fargo holding in the fourth quarter.
Buffett, also Berkshire’s chief executive officer, has trimmed the stock portfolio since the 2008 financial crisis and focused on buying whole companies. In the third quarter, Berkshire eliminated stakes in Home Depot Inc., trash hauler Republic Services Inc. and Iron Mountain Inc., a provider of records management.
Railroad Investment
Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe last year for $26.5 billion to add a railroad to Berkshire’s collection of more than 70 subsidiaries in industries spanning insurance, energy and ice cream. In the last two years, the firm has cut its stockholding of Moody’s Corp. by more than a third and divested a stake in SunTrust Banks Inc.
Buffett has said Berkshire will divide his roles as head of investments and operations among more than one successor. Combs specialized in financial-services investments at hedge fund Castle Point Capital Management LLC.
Buffett has said he built his equity portfolio by buying and holding stocks of companies that he believes have durable competitive advantages. He’s held the stake in Atlanta-based Coca-Cola for more than two decades. Berkshire’s stake in San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. home lender, was worth more than $8 billion at the end of September.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Kraut at dkraut2@bloomberg.net.