Berkshire
Hathaway hints at new purchase, ups Charter stake
Send a link to a friend
[August 15, 2015]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N> on Friday said it boosted its stake in cable TV
operator Charter Communications Corp <CHTR.O>, and signaled it may have
another large investment planned after agreeing to buy Precision
Castparts Corp <PCP.N> in its largest-ever purchase.
|
Berkshire also appeared to have shed its stakes in oilfield
equipment provider National Oilwell Varco Inc <NOV.N> and refiner
Phillips 66 <PSX.N> in the second quarter, as the oil industry
struggles with falling prices.
The changes were disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission filing detailing Berkshire's $107.2 billion U.S. stock
portfolio on June 30.
Berkshire kept some details about its holdings confidential. The SEC
sometimes lets the Omaha, Nebraska-based company delay disclosures
of new stakes so Buffett can build them quietly, rather than have
investors piggyback on him before he finishes.
Friday's filing suggests that only a small percentage of the $3.09
billion of stock that Berkshire bought in the quarter went to
companies it already owned.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/15/images/ads/current/lincolnchrysler_daily_sda_022014.png)
Berkshire held 8.51 million shares of Charter worth $1.46 billion on
June 30, up from 5.98 million shares on March 31.
It also confirmed its purchase of 20 million shares, or 8.7 percent,
of paint maker Axalta Coating Systems Ltd <AXTA.N> from controlling
shareholder Carlyle Group LP <CG.O>.
Berkshire reported lower stakes in conglomerate Chicago Bridge &
Iron Co <CBI.N>, media company Viacom Inc <VIAB.O> and Wabco
Holdings Inc <WBC.N>, which sells braking and suspension systems for
commercial vehicles.
It swapped most of what was once a much larger Phillips 66 stake for
a chemicals business in February 2014.
Friday's filing did not disclose who made which Berkshire
investments. Smaller investments are often made by Todd Combs and
Ted Weschler, who may eventually succeed Buffett as chief investment
officers.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/demay_inv-lda081412.png)
Combs invested in Precision Castparts before Berkshire said on
Monday it would buy the aerospace parts maker. The transaction
valued that company at $32.3 billion.
Other prominent investors such as Jana Partners and Davis Selected
advisers bought Precision Castparts during the quarter.
Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N> remained Berkshire's biggest stock holding.
Kraft Heinz Co <KHC.O> became Berkshire's second-biggest holding
last month, when H.J. Heinz Co bought Kraft Foods Group Inc. That
transformed Berkshire's 52.5 percent stake in Heinz into a 26.9
percent stake in Kraft Heinz.
Berkshire owns more than 80 businesses, including the BNSF railroad,
Dairy Queen ice cream and Geico car insurance. Buffett, who turns 85
on Aug. 30 has run Berkshire for 50 years.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler;
editing by James Dalgleish)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/15/images/ads/current/business_directory_filler.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/15/images/ads/current/Bonanza_sda_072214.png) |