Buffett/Berkshire - general news

[Dynamic]

I'll update my public Look-Through portfolio sheet soon, but for now here's a summary of the moves.

 

The following figures are for the shares beneficially owned by shareholders, so they exclude known Berkshire pension scheme holdings. They also include stocks held via New England Asset Management for Berkshire but filed in NEAM's 13-F with owner code '01 02'.

 

AAL -4.2% -1,000,000 shares American Airlines falling to 22,958,000. The other 20,742,000 are in pensions. (buyback related reduction?)

AAPL +0.2% +522,902 shares Apple up to 252,810,459. Another 2,837,753 in pensions.

BAC +28.6% +200,000,000 shares Bank of America Corp up to 900,000,000

BK +42.1% +24,111,850 shares Bank of New York Mellon up to 81,400,977 (plus 7,511,249 assumed in pensions)

CHTR -2.8% -163,200 shares Charter Communications down to 5,640,648. (1,700,337 more in pensions)

DAL +2.9% +1,869,160 shares Delta Airlines up to 65,535,000

DVA - unchanged but own a higher percentage due to DaVita buybacks

GHC - eliminated Graham Holdings position (was 107,575 shares)

GM +2.3% +1,067,800 shares General Motors up to 46,988,558 (5,472,853 more in pensions, assumed)

GS +37.3% +5,099,145 shares Goldman Sachs up to 18,784,698

JNJ -8.0% -28,382 shares Johnson & Johnson down to 327,100

JPM New Position 36,209,767 shares JPMorgan Chase & Co

LUV -0.9% -500,000 Southwest Airlines down to 56,047,399 (buyback related)

ORCL New Position 42,691,791 shares Oracle Corp

PNC New Position 7,187,819 shares PNC Financial Services Group Inc

PSX -55.6% -19,296,490 shares Phillips 66 down to 15,433,024

SNY - Reduced/Eliminated uncertain. -3,701,012 shares in US ADRs eliminated. Euronext Paris stock is not reported on 13-F. May still hold approx 40,433,985 equivalent SNY ADRs based on 2016 10-K via Paris

TRV New Position 3,586,688 shares Travelers Companies Inc

UAL -2.8% -700,000 shares United Continental Holdings Inc down to 24,393,163 (1,591,379 more in pensions) probably buyback related

USB +15.3% +18,203,375 shares U.S. Bancorp up to 137,120,760 (590,275 more in pensions)

VRSK -64.0% -1,779,811 shares Verisk Analytics Inc down to 1,000,325 (all remaining shares in NEAM now)

WFC -2.8% -13,374,425 shares Wells Fargo & Co down to 465,156,000 (buyback related trim)

WMT Eliminated Wal-Mart Stores Inc position (was 1,393,513 shares)

[boilermaker75]

The exposure to US banks is now enormous - about USD 70 B [getting to USD 67.8 B alone from Dataroma, exclusive New England Asset Management]. It better go well.

 

I sure hope so! My four largest holdings are

 

1. BRKB

2. WFC

3. BAC

4. BK

 

How funny. These are my top 4 holdings too, and at the same order. There only difference is these four are also my Only holdings.

 

They essentially are my only holdings also. Just a few other rather small positions. BRKB is about 50% of my holdings.

[John Hjorth]

... BRKB is about 50% of my holdings.

 

I speculate Mike's more or less constantly selling Berkshire puts is a side gig closely related to Mike's primary occupation:

. [ : - ) ]

[boilermaker75]

... BRKB is about 50% of my holdings.

 

I speculate Mike's more or less constantly selling Berkshire puts is a side gig closely related to Mike's primary occupation:

. [ : - ) ]

 

Charlies' sit on your ass investing

 

Mischel, W., & Ebbesen, E. B.(1970). Attention in delay of gratification.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 16, 329–337

 

[John Hjorth]

Barron's - Andrew Bary - [November 23^rd 2018] : Why Warren Buffett Is Big on Big Banks [here outlined].

[gfp]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-28/ge-s-money-pit-how-a-15-billion-hole-could-get-costlier-to-fix

 

Bloomberg article on Culp's efforts to get rid of GE's toxic Long Term Care and other undesirable insurance liabilities still on GE Capital's books.

 

Berkshire would charge a fortune to take on this business but I'm sure Ajit would be interested - at his price.

 

"GE has also held talks with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. about absorbing its insurance liabilities, two people said.

 

“It’s very difficult to sell” these types of policies, said GB Taglioni, North American leader of Boston Consulting’s insurance practice. He declined to talk about GE’s situation specifically. “There have been a lot of sellers and there have been, up until now, very few buyers.”

 

A GE spokeswoman declined to comment beyond recent filings and public comments, while Athene and Apollo also declined to comment. A Berkshire representative didn’t respond to requests for comment."

[John Hjorth]

A new repowering project at PacifiCorp: Vestas Wind Systems A/S Company News [November 28^th 2018] : Vestas secures first multi-brand repowering order from PacifiCorp.

[gfp]

Pilot Flying J did a small deal -

https://seekingalpha.com/pr/17344014-pilot-flying-js-pwt-makes-strategic-acquisition-equipment-transport-llc-strengthen-core

[gfp]

Clayton bought another traditional homebuilder.  This one sounds like it is fairly large compared to some of their other bolt-on deals -

 

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/clayton-properties-group-acquires-mungo-homes-1027775617

 

https://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/berkshire-hathaways-clayton-strikes-again-landing-its-biggest-deal-yet-mungo-homes_o

[DooDiligence]

Clayton bought another traditional homebuilder.  This one sounds like it is fairly large compared to some of their other bolt-on deals -

 

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/clayton-properties-group-acquires-mungo-homes-1027775617

 

https://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/berkshire-hathaways-clayton-strikes-again-landing-its-biggest-deal-yet-mungo-homes_o

 

Nice!

 

Growing the housing segment.

 

I'll bet everything they build gets Benjamin Moore paint jobs as well as other related pieces & parts.

 

More listings for all those realtors that are getting added to the fold on a regular basis too.

[gfp]

Various news reports out this morning talking about these potential Berkshire deals -

 

"WARREN BUFFETT BUYS UP MAC INSURANCE BOOK

The “Oracle of Omaha”, Warren Buffett, is looking for more business opportunities in South Australia after swooping in to acquire the insurance book of the Motor Accident Commission."

 

- rest of article in The Advertiser is subscriber only, but it sounds like Ajit bought a book of business in South Australia.

 

And also speculation without confirmation that Berkshire could be taking a stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank -

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/buffett-berkshire-eyes-stake-in-kotak-mahindra-bank-report/story/298448.html

 

and a denial by the company that there is anything to report:

https://www.livemint.com/Money/wQ3oPQcsCilv1XC5HM1bYP/Kotak-Bank-shares-jump-8-on-report-of-Berkshire-investment.html

[John Hjorth]

Thank you for sharing, globalfinancepartners,

 

Empire building cont'd, now chapter <unknown>.

 

Hasen't Mr. Buffett been silent [cheap with interviews] for a quite long period of time now? - I  suppose his actual modus operandi right now is buying.

[gfp]

It seems like he is feeling his age more and more and stepping back quite a bit. Luckily he has created a structure that requires very little minutiae from him personally and he is still all there for the important bits. Charlie’s 50th anniversary letter captures the current situation quite well, although it would have benefited from an editor’s touch -

 

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/SpecialLetters/CTM%20past%20present%20future%202014.pdf

 

Thank you for sharing, globalfinancepartners,

 

Empire building cont'd, now chapter <unknown>.

 

Hasen't Mr. Buffett been silent [cheap with interviews] for a quite long period of time now? - I  suppose his actual modus operandi right now is buying.

[gfp]

good general overview and farewell from Matt Rose - some interesting stuff on the potential or lack thereof for rail mergers, etc -->

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/matt-rose-less-is-not-better/

[Spekulatius]

This article is an update on the ballot item in Nevada to open up NV Energy's regulated monopoly to more choice.  Obviously NV Energy would still own the distribution infrastructure.  BHE has been spending a lot of money on lobbying / advertising.  Some large individual casinos had already won the right to pay a termination fee and buy their power from an independent producer. 

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/27/adelson-buffett-nevada-890190

Thanks for the link.

The question is limited to one state but may represent a larger current.

 

I live in a place where electricity is essentially a vertically-integrated regulated monopoly (wholesale and retail) with hydro responsible for more than 90% of electricity needs and with policies in place favoring low and uniform prices and in a relatively steady place versus the socio-political sphere. But I really like what has been going on in the US considering the experiments with various deregulation plans. It's noisy and sometimes disruptive and inelegant but it seems like it's the best way to go IMO.

 

What is happening in Nevada (it seems like the ballot item will pass?) may be part of more to come at the national level and underlines the risks of transition costs and partial recovery of the value of stranded assets and I guess BH can manage transitions but investments in regulated utilities does rely on trust versus potential regulatory harm.

 

The context in Nevada is fascinating with the recent residential solar issues and the ballot question does not go along traditional political divisions.

 

I've looked into the issue, from a Nevada perspective, and come to the conclusion that it is very hard to decide what is best on a net basis for "society". In terms of consumer costs, I wonder if the Nevada experience would look more like California or more like Texas. I would tend to vote against the trend and for BH (bias here) because of the traditional reasons that it has used to justify the venture into regulated utilities (efficient operations, low cost of capital, reasonable rates of return, long-term outlook with stable and low retail prices and flexibility for alternative sources of energy and environmental concerns).

 

Found the following to be useful:

https://guinncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Guinn-Center-Q3-2018.pdf

https://guinncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Guinn-Center-Q3-Voter-Guide-2018.pdf

 

But this is not simply a story about two billionaires.

 

A town in my neighborhood in MA has bought out their electricity distribution network from the utility a couple of years ago and they seem to be doing quite well with it. Prices are lower than in surrounding towns and their electricity network is more reliable it seems, since they are doing a better job maintaining it. This micro utility still purchases their power wholesale.

[nickenumbers]

good general overview and farewell from Matt Rose - some interesting stuff on the potential or lack thereof for rail mergers, etc -->

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/matt-rose-less-is-not-better/

 

GlobalFinPart- This is a great article.  Thanks very much for sharing it.  I am learning and lot from Matt Rose and enjoying the heck out of it.

[alpha]

good general overview and farewell from Matt Rose - some interesting stuff on the potential or lack thereof for rail mergers, etc -->

https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/matt-rose-less-is-not-better/

 

Great interview, thanks for sharing.

[gfp]

glad y'all found the interview interesting.  I definitely got some questions from my fellow jurors in criminal jury duty who were looking over my shoulder wondering why I was reading "RailwayAge" magazine...  Last day of Jury Duty is today - unless they keep me on this child sexual abuse case that will last 3 days.  Every single case I have been through voir dire on over the two week period has been some dude sexually assaulting a minor girl.  Yuck.

[gfp]

Greg Abel announcing the new CEO for Marmon.  Not a surprise, but nice to see Greg is truly the direct report.

 

https://www.citizentribune.com/news/business/angelo-pantaleo-will-assume-top-post-at-marmon-holdings/article_e648e29c-eff9-5322-b8f8-d27d4aab8115.html

[John Hjorth]

Seeking Alpha [December 19^th 2018] : Warren Buffett to 'substantially exit' Home Capital investment.

Home Capital Group Press Release [December 19^th 2018].

[wisowis]

Approximately $20 million dollar purchase of BRK by Ajit: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000172845118000013/xslF345X03/primary_doc.xml

[cubsfan]

Approximately $20 million dollar purchase of BRK by Ajit: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000172845118000013/xslF345X03/primary_doc.xml

 

Thanks - only good news of the day. 

[Libs]

What does box 8 mean?

-------------------------------------------

 

"Price of delivery security value $296,000"

[Libs]

Oops. Posted too soon. The A shares are the derivative security.

[Guest longinvestor]

The “news “ of insider buying is not something we’re used to. All it took was a 60 year old young getting promoted to the board