Berkshire Hathaway

[redcorolla95]

Berkshire Hathaway 2010 results

The Berkshire Hathaway annual report is out

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2010ar/...ual10.html
http://www.tilsonfunds.com/BRK.pdf

Plug in the nos, you have an estimate of the intrinsic value of BRK.A at $150-180k ps, or BRK.B at $100 - $120 each.

Appears that since
1. The BRK portfolio is still world-class,
2. Much of the Buffett premium is gone, so it's now trading at a discount to intrinsic value

Seems to me that BRK would be better than 70-80% of the stocks discussed in the forum, and also provide diversification from Singapore and the Asia-Pacific.

[D123]

Whitney Tilson is at it again - selling Berkshire Hathaway as an investment idea: http://www.scribd.com/doc/59932290/T2-Pa...on-7-13-11

At today's prices, about $115,000 per share, the stock is trading at about 1.2 times book, which seems cheaper than usual if you look at the P/B ratios that it has been trading at over the past 20 years.

I think the stock is worth considering for those willing to put up with a depreciating USD.

[kazukirai]

Yea, the only thing I have with US stocks is the depreciating USD. Many US companies have great franchises but those with the bulk of their sales in the US will kill SG investors with the currency exchange.

One question, I understand that buying US listed stocks through the local brokerage will mean that the Stocks are held in the Broker's name through a nominee account. In that case, how does one identify himself as a shareholder to attend the shareholder meetings?

I would love to go to a Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting at least once in my life before Buffet and Munger pass on.

[d.o.g.]

I would love to go to a Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting at least once in my life before Buffet and Munger pass on.

As I recall, at one point you could buy a pass to the AGM without being a shareholder. Maybe Berkshire Hathaway still has this arrangement.

[D123]

Here's what a reporter from NextInsight had to say about his trip to the shareholders' meeting:

"I went as a friend of a shareholder. He said he needed only to produce evidence of his purchase of Berkshire 'B' shares. This he did through the broker's purchase note (the standard note that you get every time u buy & sell shares). With a scanned image of this note, my friend emailed the organiser of the Berkshire AGM and that was it....They posted the registration forms, we booked our hotel and flights, etc. If u need more info, let me know..."
(From http://www.nextinsight.net/index.php/sto...e-of-omaha)

I guess you can try the same route too; get proof of purchase of the shares, then contact the company directly and ask for registration forms. I cannot verify this method though...

[kazukirai]

Thanks for the info d.o.g. and D123!

[valuehunter]

After all this years, Berkshire Hathaway has finally announced their intention to conduct share buybacks at no more that 10% of book value. They may not eventually conduct the operation. However, it is comforting to shareholders to know that Warren Buffett deems the shares of his company to be undervalued at current valuations.

[honeyclover]

Just buy 1 share.
i brought it from oneshare.com

[D123]

At the end of the recent third quarter, as reported on pg 34 of the 3Q 10-Q, (http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/qtrly/3rdqtr11.pdf) Berkshire repurchased $17.9 mn worth of its own shares from the open market at an overall average price of $107,200.78 per 'A' share equivalent or $71.47 per 'B' share equivalent. This was carried out in the last 5 days of the third quarter.

Here are some additional statistics of the company as at the end of the third quarter:

No. of 'A' shares: 939,556
No. of 'B' shares: 1,067,397,116
Book value (as reported in 10-Q): $159,957mn
Book value per 'A' share equivalent: $96,875.88

Given that in the fourth quarter so far, the closing share price of BRK.A only fell below 1.1 times its 30 Sept book value per share once, on 3 Oct, it is unlikely that much additional repurchasing has been done. Additionally, book value per share has also fallen since 2Q 2011 when it was $98,715 per 'A' share equivalent, so the threshold price for repurchases have also fallen.

From here on till the next reporting date, Berkshire is authorized to repurchase shares at prices at and below $106,563 per 'A' share equivalent.

(Figures in US$)

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 15 Nov 2011

Berkshire takes US$10.7b stake in IBM

(NEW YORK) Warren Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway Inc has accumulated a 5.5 per cent stake in IBM, the billionaire investor's biggest bet in the technology field he has historically shunned.

Mr Buffett said he was convinced by IBM's long-term roadmap and by its entrenched position with major businesses - part of the durable competitive advantage that he looks for when investing in a company.

'I don't know of any large company that really has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM,' Mr Buffett told CNBC in an interview.

The move also puts Mr Buffett's money squarely in the heart of the technology industry, a sector he has steadfastly avoided on the grounds he simply did not understand it.

Mr Buffett said, in a CNBC interview yesterday, he had bought about 64 million shares of IBM at a cost of US$10.7 billion. Berkshire started buying the shares in March, with a goal of building a US$10 billion position, he said.

Mr Buffett said IBM did not know that he was building a stake and that the company was finding out about his investment for the first time as he disclosed it on television. An IBM spokesman declined to comment.

He said he has always looked at IBM's annual report - his preferred method of identifying companies to invest in - but this year 'I read it through a different lens'. Mr Buffett said follow-on conversations with various technology executives throughout the Berkshire conglomerate convinced him to start building the stake.

Berkshire was due to make a quarterly report of its equity holdings last night.

Though it started buying IBM shares in March, Mr Buffett's comments suggested Berkshire did not cross reporting thresholds on the investment until the third quarter, which let him keep the stake secret until yesterday.

According to Thomson Reuters data, a 5.5 per cent position in IBM would tie Mr Buffett with State Street Global Advisors for the largest stake in the company.

IBM shares rose nearly one per cent in New York as markets opened.

Mr Buffett, known as one of history's great value investors, appears to have gotten into IBM late in the game.

By early March, when he started buying the stock, the shares had risen more than 25 per cent from their most recent low of six months previously. Even the stock's lowest point during the third quarter, when Mr Buffett built the rest of his stake, was one of its highest levels ever.

At a Friday close of US$187.38, the stock is nearing analysts' median price target of US$200, according to Thomson Reuters data\. \-- Reuters