Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[73 Reds]

9 minutes ago, ander said:

Is Ajit selling really a concern given that he's had a long history of selling / gifting? It is of course not a positive signal, and I understand it is a large proportion of what is remaining, but I do not believe it is necessarily a suggestion of impending doom at Berkshire (remember if there is impending doom in the broader market, that is where Berkshire often does the best so one would not want to be a seller of shares right into it).

The far more interesting question would be if Berkshire was the buyer of Ajit's shares.

[John Hjorth]

1 minute ago, ander said:

Is Ajit selling really a concern given that he's had a long history of selling / gifting? It is of course not a positive signal, and I understand it is a large proportion of what is remaining, but I do not believe it is necessarily a suggestion of impending doom at Berkshire (remember if there is impending doom in the broader market, that is where Berkshire often does the best so one would not want to be a seller of shares right into it).

 

@ander,

 

I with with you on this.

 

But this is CoBF, the place for all kinds of Berkshire enthusiasts and nerds, likely due to overdoing things at times [, but certainly not always, nor on avarage].

 

If it was Greg [ @Gregmal ] posting about it like you , I personally think he would be calling it something like a bit more more than a 'nothing burger', perhaps meaning a 'nothing Big Mac'. 

[gfp]

2 minutes ago, 73 Reds said:

The far more interesting question would be if Berkshire was the buyer of Ajit's shares.

 

I think that's a "no" but we'll probably be able to tell in the next 10Q.  There are several clues, including that it was an average price over multiple transactions on the same day, the high price, the optics of buying shares directly from a reporting insider/vice chairman of the board, and whatever the legal complications Greg references when mentioning that JOE can't buy Bruce's shares directly.  Prem and Fairfax did it, of course, but that may be a Canada thing.

 

BRK never directly bought stock blocks from the Gates Foundation, even though they were known to be a large daily seller of B-shares (and still are).

 

Now, why didn't Ajit convert the A-shares into B-shares before selling?  I'm sure Warren would have preferred that.

[gfp]

20 minutes ago, ander said:

(remember if there is impending doom in the broader market, that is where Berkshire often does the best so one would not want to be a seller of shares right into it).

 

Berkshire the company might prosper in a bear market, but Berkshire the stock goes down a bunch just the same.  Especially if it starts at the high end of its recent valuation range.  Having $300+ billion in t-bills and huge operations in non-economically-sensitive industries (insurance, utilities, etc) will help a lot in a weak period for the global economy / stock market averages / whatever.

[boilermaker75]

20 hours ago, sleepydragon said:

It’s almost exactly $100m after tax. Is there a possiblity that Ajain is buying a huge house?   The most expensive house in CT is around $50m, but there are a lot of big houses in Florida

 

 

With enough left over for a yacht! 

[73 Reds]

26 minutes ago, gfp said:

 

I think that's a "no" but we'll probably be able to tell in the next 10Q.  There are several clues, including that it was an average price over multiple transactions on the same day, the high price, the optics of buying shares directly from a reporting insider/vice chairman of the board, and whatever the legal complications Greg references when mentioning that JOE can't buy Bruce's shares directly.  Prem and Fairfax did it, of course, but that may be a Canada thing.

 

BRK never directly bought stock blocks from the Gates Foundation, even though they were known to be a large daily seller of B-shares (and still are).

 

Now, why didn't Ajit convert the A-shares into B-shares before selling?  I'm sure Warren would have preferred that.

Yep, but an interesting prospect nonetheless.  In any event Ajit certainly advised Buffett of the sale in advance.

[ander]

1 hour ago, gfp said:

 

Berkshire the company might prosper in a bear market, but Berkshire the stock goes down a bunch just the same.  Especially if it starts at the high end of its recent valuation range.  Having $300+ billion in t-bills and huge operations in non-economically-sensitive industries (insurance, utilities, etc) will help a lot in a weak period for the global economy / stock market averages / whatever.

agreed Berkshire stock could go down (which probably not as relevant to Ajit), but intrinsic value likely goes up much more given the position they are in.

[yesman182]

4 hours ago, 73 Reds said:

Yep, but an interesting prospect nonetheless.  In any event Ajit certainly advised Buffett of the sale in advance.

I doubt it. 

[UK]

On 9/13/2024 at 3:46 PM, gfp said:

 

Berkshire the company might prosper in a bear market, but Berkshire the stock goes down a bunch just the same.  Especially if it starts at the high end of its recent valuation range.  Having $300+ billion in t-bills and huge operations in non-economically-sensitive industries (insurance, utilities, etc) will help a lot in a weak period for the global economy / stock market averages / whatever.

 

Gfp, do you also think there is a decent chances all these recent moves by BRK and Co could suggest some kind of preparation for a possible troubles in the economy and/or stock market?

[sleepydragon]

Another possibility: Ajain is going through a divorce, and wife wants cash instead of stocks.

 

this explains why it’s roughly 50% of his holdings.

 

Precedence is Jeff Bezo’s ex wife. Sold all Amazon stocks she got too

[Txvestor]

I think he just wanted to get affairs in order and saw a good valuation opportunity and decided to sell. When BRKb shares were approaching $500 and the market cap touched a trillion, and cap gains taxes are the lowest they'll be in the next 20yrs(or within your lifetime) and almost all your sale proceeds are cap gains, if you're a logical individual you'd want to sell atleast a part of your holdings.