REUTERS/Rick Wilking
- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway introduced greater than $35 billion of investments final quarter.
- The billionaire investor’s firm spent nearly $18 billion on stocks, repurchased a document $9 billion of its shares, and struck about $10 billion worth of offers.
- Buffett and his crew boosted their Bank of America holding, added Snowflake and 4 pharmaceutical firms to their portfolio, revealed stakes in 5 Japanese buying and selling firms, and commenced constructing a secret place.
- In addition they agreed to amass most of Dominion Vitality’s natural-gas property and assist finance Scripps’ takeover of ION Media.
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Warren Buffett was fiercely criticized for not deploying Berkshire Hathaway’s mountain of cash when the pandemic tanked markets within the spring. The famed investor’s firm responded to the backlash by saying greater than $35 billion worth of stock purchases, buybacks, and offers final quarter.
Berkshire spent $17.6 billion on equities within the three months to September 30, its newest earnings present. That determine consists of its $2 billion-plus buy of Bank of America stock, $735 million funding in Snowflake, and roughly $5 billion guess on AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, and Pfizer.
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Berkshire additionally disclosed in August that it had constructed 5% stakes in 5 Japanese buying and selling firms over the previous 12 months, at a price of about $5 billion. Furthermore, it secured regulatory permission to not disclose one of many stocks in its portfolio final quarter, suggesting it is constructing a secret place.
Buffett and his crew snapped up Berkshire shares as nicely. They repurchased $9 billion worth within the three-month interval, smashing their earlier quarterly buyback document of $5.1 billion.
Berkshire’s bosses struck a few offers too. They shook palms on buying most of Dominion Vitality’s natural-gas property in exchange for $Four billion in cash and taking up $5.7 billion of the power group’s debt.
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In addition they agreed to assist finance Scripps’ acquisition of ION Media, handing the broadcaster $600 million in exchange for most well-liked shares and $300 million worth of stock warrants.
Shopping for and promoting
Buffett’s firm spent practically $18 billion on stocks final quarter, nevertheless it additionally offered $12.eight billion worth. For instance, it dumped greater than 95% of its JPMorgan stock, nearly halved its remaining Wells Fargo stake, and exited its Costco place after greater than 20 years.
Nonetheless, the mix of Berkshire’s $4.eight billion in web stock purchases, $9 billion worth of buybacks, and greater than $10 billion in offers ought to assuage any doubts that Buffett and his crew are keen to splash their cash.
