Warren Buffett’s Berkshire buys new US$3.45bil Exxon Mobil stake

Updated: Friday November 15, 2013 MYT 9:07:27 AM

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire buys new US$3.45bil Exxon Mobil stake

NEW YORK: Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Thursday disclosed a new US$3.45 billion stake in Exxon Mobil Corp, after buying 40.1 million shares in the world’s largest publicly traded oil company. Although the investment represents just 0.9 percent of Houston-based Exxon’s shares, analysts said it reflects strong support by the second-richest American of one of the world’s largest and most profitable companies.“When Warren Buffett gives his seal of approval to any company, that is never a bad thing,” said Pavel Molchanov, energy analyst at Raymond James & Associates, who rates Exxon shares a “strong buy.”

Exxon shares rose 84 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $94.06 in after-hours trading following Berkshire’s disclosure of its stake in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that listed most of its equity investments as of September 30. The shares had risen 63 cents during regular trading.

“He likes buying big, established global brand names, and Exxon is a good flight-to-quality stock,” saidFadel Gheit, senior oil analyst at Oppenheimer & Co, referring to Buffett. “The stock has also lagged the market in the last three and five years. That makes it a typical Warren Buffett holding.”

Gheit has a “perform” rating on Exxon.

Berkshire already has energy and utilities businesses, including MidAmerican Energy, which is spending $5.6 billion to buy Nevada utility NV Energy Inc.

U.S. regulators require large investors to disclose their stock holdings every quarter, and the disclosures can offer a window into their strategies for buying and selling stocks.

Buffett sometimes gets SEC permission to delay disclosures so that he can buy stocks without having investors copy him.

He did this for the second quarter of 2013, and revealed on Thursday that Exxon purchases took place during that period.

“We appreciate the confidence investors have in ExxonMobil when they decide to invest in the company,” Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said in an email.

Berkshire last reported owning Exxon shares in late 2011.

Debbie Bosanek, an assistant to Buffett, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONOCO STAKE DECLINES

Buffett typically makes Berkshire’s largest investments, while other investments are made by portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Berkshire’s quarterly filings do not reveal who buys or sells what.

The company ended September with $104.9 billion of equities. Its four top holdings -American Express Co, Coca-Cola Co, International Business Machines Corp and Wells Fargo & Co – totaled $58.4 billion.

During the quarter, Berkshire also reduced by 44 percent its share stake in oil company ConocoPhillips.

Through Thursday, ConocoPhillips’ stock was up 27.1 percent in 2013, while Exxon rose just 7.7 percent. The Energy Selector Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund was up 22.1 percent.

“Buffett is a classic value investor, and Exxon has been an underloved stock in a bull market,” Molchanov said. “Exxon is an amazing cash generating machine, which should generate $16 billion of free cash flow this year.”

Berkshire also reported higher stakes in Bank of New York Mellon Corp, dialysis clinic operator DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc, satellite TV providerDIRECTV, Suncor Energy Co, US Bancorp and Verisign Inc, which assigns Internet protocol addresses. Its stake in drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc fell.

Berkshire also owns more than 80 businesses in such areas as insurance, railroads, utilities, chemicals and food. It paid $12.3 billion in June for half of ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co.

On Thursday, Berkshire’s Class A shares rose 0.7 percent to $173,320, and its Class B shares rose 0.8 percent to $115.69.- Reuters

Nov 14, 2013

Berkshire Hathaway Reports New Stake in Exxon Mobil

ANUPREETA DAS

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed Thursday it had picked up a $3.45 billion stake in Exxon Mobil Corp., a sizable new addition to its roughly $107 billion portfolio of stocks. Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest publicly-traded oil-and-gas company with a market capitalization of $404.5 billion. Berkshire’s stake was valued at $3.45 billion as of Sept. 30, and represents less than 1% of Exxon Mobil’s 4.4 billion shares outstanding.

The stock was likely picked by Mr. Buffett himself, given the size of the investment. The billionaire investor has said he is in charge of investment decisions for Berkshire’s multibillion-dollar stock holdings, while his two investment managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler buy and sell smaller positions.

Mr. Buffett has had mixed luck with his bets on energy companies. In his 2008 letter to shareholders, he rued Berkshire’s large purchase of ConocoPhillips stock when oil and gas prices were near their peak, just before they nosedived. “Even if prices should rise… the terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars,” he wrote.

Berkshire owned about $940 million of the company’s stock as of Sept. 30, having cut its stake by more than $500 million from the previous quarter.

In 2007, Berkshire bought $2 billion worth of bonds of Texas electric utility Energy Future Holdings, which he later called a “big mistake.” Mr. Buffett said in his 2012 letter that Berkshire wrote down the value of much of that holding as natural gas prices remained depressed.

Mr. Buffett hired the two managers in 2010 and 2011 to help run Berkshire’s investment portfolio as part of his succession plan. Each now manages assets worth about $6.5 billion, up from $5 billion in March, reflecting increases in the value of stocks they have picked as well as greater funds to invest, people familiar with the matter said.

 

FORM 13F INFORMATION TABLE

COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 4 COLUMN 5 COLUMN 6 COLUMN 7 COLUMN 8
VALUE SHRS OR SH/ PUT/ INVESTMENT OTHER VOTING AUTHORITY
NAME OF ISSUER TITLE OF CLASS CUSIP (x$1000) PRN AMT PRN CALL DISCRETION MANAGER SOLE SHARED NONE
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO COM 025816109 147,426 1,952,142 SH   DFND 4 1,952,142 0 0
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO COM 025816109 1,300,862 17,225,400 SH   DFND 4,5 17,225,400 0 0
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AMERICAN EXPRESS CO COM 025816109 146,743 1,943,100 SH   DFND 4,8,11 1,943,100 0 0
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BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP COM 064058100 242,767 8,041,300 SH   DFND 4 8,041,300 0 0
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BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP COM 064058100 170,767 5,656,400 SH   DFND 4,11 5,656,400 0 0
CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON CO N V N Y REGISTRY SH 167250109 326,475 4,817,400 SH   DFND 4 4,817,400 0 0
CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON CO N V N Y REGISTRY SH 167250109 320,779 4,733,355 SH   DFND 4,8,11 4,733,355 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 30,304 800,000 SH   DFND 4 800,000 0 0
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COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 69,093 1,824,000 SH   DFND 4,6 1,824,000 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 545,896 14,411,200 SH   DFND 4,8,11 14,411,200 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 692,386 18,278,400 SH   DFND 4,10 18,278,400 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 10,602,279 279,891,200 SH   DFND 4,11 279,891,200 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 134,550 3,552,000 SH   DFND 4,12 3,552,000 0 0
COCA COLA CO COM 191216100 36,365 960,000 SH   DFND 4,13 960,000 0 0
CONOCOPHILLIPS COM 20825C104 34,655 498,558 SH   DFND 4,8,11 498,558 0 0
CONOCOPHILLIPS COM 20825C104 138,971 1,999,300 SH   DFND 4,10 1,999,300 0 0
CONOCOPHILLIPS COM 20825C104 766,793 11,031,412 SH   DFND 4,11 11,031,412 0 0
COSTCO WHSL CORP NEW COM 22160K105 499,073 4,333,363 SH   DFND 4,11 4,333,363 0 0
DAVITA HEALTHCARE PARTNERS I COM 23918K108 1,021,231 17,947,812 SH   DFND 4 17,947,812 0 0
DAVITA HEALTHCARE PARTNERS I COM 23918K108 768,094 13,499,018 SH   DFND 4,8,11 13,499,018 0 0
DEERE & CO COM 244199105 135,620 1,666,300 SH   DFND 4 1,666,300 0 0
DEERE & CO COM 244199105 188,212 2,312,467 SH   DFND 4,8,11 2,312,467 0 0
DISH NETWORK CORP CL A 25470M109 24,635 547,312 SH   DFND 4,8,11 547,312 0 0
DIRECTV COM 25490A309 853,407 14,275,800 SH   DFND 4 14,275,800 0 0
DIRECTV COM 25490A309 1,329,441 22,238,900 SH   DFND 4,8,11 22,238,900 0 0
EXXON MOBIL CORP COM 30231G102 912,661 10,607,400 SH   DFND 4,5 10,607,400 0 0
EXXON MOBIL CORP COM 30231G102 237,531 2,760,700 SH   DFND 4,10 2,760,700 0 0
EXXON MOBIL CORP COM 30231G102 2,299,098 26,721,271 SH   DFND 4,11 26,721,271 0 0
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO COM 369604103 14,069 588,900 SH   DFND 4 588,900 0 0
GENERAL MTRS CO COM 37045V100 658,071 18,295,000 SH   DFND 4 18,295,000 0 0
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GLAXOSMITHKLINE PLC SPONSORED ADR 37733W105 17,350 345,819 SH   DFND 4,11 345,819 0 0
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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHS COM 459200101 87,923 474,800 SH   DFND 4,8,11 474,800 0 0
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHS COM 459200101 12,400,600 66,965,116 SH   DFND 4,11 66,965,116 0 0
JOHNSON & JOHNSON COM 478160104 28,356 327,100 SH   DFND 4 327,100 0 0
KRAFT FOODS GROUP INC COM 50076Q106 10,111 192,666 SH   DFND 4 192,666 0 0
LEE ENTERPRISES INC COM 523768109 235 88,863 SH   DFND 4,5 88,863 0 0
LIBERTY MEDIA CORP DELAWARE CL A 531229102 385,877 2,622,340 SH   DFND 4 2,622,340 0 0
LIBERTY MEDIA CORP DELAWARE CL A 531229102 441,450 3,000,000 SH   DFND 4,8,11 3,000,000 0 0
M & T BK CORP COM 55261F104 61,108 546,000 SH   DFND 4,8,11 546,000 0 0
M & T BK CORP COM 55261F104 18,444 164,795 SH   DFND 4,10 164,795 0 0
M & T BK CORP COM 55261F104 522,806 4,671,245 SH   DFND 4,11 4,671,245 0 0
MASTERCARD INC CL A 57636Q104 272,476 405,000 SH   DFND 4,8,11 405,000 0 0
MEDIA GEN INC CL A 584404107 66,255 4,646,220 SH   DFND 4 4,646,220 0 0
MONDELEZ INTL INC CL A 609207105 18,161 578,000 SH   DFND 4 578,000 0 0
MOODYS CORP COM 615369105 859,878 12,226,328 SH   DFND 4,8,11 12,226,328 0 0
MOODYS CORP COM 615369105 892,899 12,695,850 SH   DFND 4,11 12,695,850 0 0
NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO INC COM 637071101 329,351 4,216,500 SH   DFND 4 4,216,500 0 0
NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO INC COM 637071101 364,266 4,663,500 SH   DFND 4,8,11 4,663,500 0 0
PHILLIPS 66 COM 718546104 375,587 6,495,800 SH   DFND 4 6,495,800 0 0
PHILLIPS 66 COM 718546104 526,951 9,113,650 SH   DFND 4,8,11 9,113,650 0 0
PHILLIPS 66 COM 718546104 57,800 999,650 SH   DFND 4,10 999,650 0 0
PHILLIPS 66 COM 718546104 610,280 10,554,818 SH   DFND 4,11 10,554,818 0 0
PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP COM 740189105 269,219 1,184,735 SH   DFND 4 1,184,735 0 0
PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP COM 740189105 180,111 792,601 SH   DFND 4,8,11 792,601 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 23,841 315,400 SH   DFND 4 315,400 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 1,532,965 20,280,000 SH   DFND 4,5 20,280,000 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 117,920 1,560,000 SH   DFND 4,6 1,560,000 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 471,682 6,240,000 SH   DFND 4,8,11 6,240,000 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 471,682 6,240,000 SH   DFND 4,10 6,240,000 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 1,313,579 17,377,678 SH   DFND 4,11 17,377,678 0 0
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO COM 742718109 58,960 780,000 SH   DFND 4,12 780,000 0 0
SANOFI SPONSORED ADR 80105N105 21,335 421,400 SH   DFND 4,8,11 421,400 0 0
SANOFI SPONSORED ADR 80105N105 25,808 509,742 SH   DFND 4,5,9 509,742 0 0
SANOFI SPONSORED ADR 80105N105 8,572 169,300 SH   DFND 4,10 169,300 0 0
SANOFI SPONSORED ADR 80105N105 142,039 2,805,433 SH   DFND 4,11 2,805,433 0 0
STARZ LIBRTY CAP COM A 85571Q102 73,766 2,622,340 SH   DFND 4 2,622,340 0 0
STARZ LIBRTY CAP COM A 85571Q102 84,390 3,000,000 SH   DFND 4,8,11 3,000,000 0 0
SUNCOR ENERGY INC NEW COM 867224107 644,396 18,009,957 SH   DFND 4,8,11 18,009,957 0 0
TORCHMARK CORP COM 891027104 8,416 116,326 SH   DFND 2,4,11 116,326 0 0
TORCHMARK CORP COM 891027104 48,807 674,592 SH   DFND 4,5 674,592 0 0
TORCHMARK CORP COM 891027104 69,423 959,550 SH   DFND 4,10 959,550 0 0
TORCHMARK CORP COM 891027104 179,815 2,485,350 SH   DFND 4,11 2,485,350 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 21,592 590,275 SH   DFND 4 590,275 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 112,301 3,070,000 SH   DFND 1,2,4,11 3,070,000 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 852,581 23,307,300 SH   DFND 4,5 23,307,300 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 463,809 12,679,300 SH   DFND 4,8,11 12,679,300 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 153,812 4,204,800 SH   DFND 4,5,9 4,204,800 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 111,569 3,050,000 SH   DFND 4,10 3,050,000 0 0
US BANCORP DEL COM NEW 902973304 1,114,623 30,470,826 SH   DFND 4,11 30,470,826 0 0
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U S G CORP COM NEW 903293405 487,923 17,072,192 SH   DFND 4,11 17,072,192 0 0
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC CL B 911312106 5,427 59,400 SH   DFND 4 59,400 0 0
VERISIGN INC COM 92343E102 230,125 4,522,000 SH   DFND 4 4,522,000 0 0
VERISIGN INC COM 92343E102 327,707 6,439,520 SH   DFND 4,8,11 6,439,520 0 0
VERISK ANALYTICS INC CL A 92345Y106 101,561 1,563,434 SH   DFND 4,8,11 1,563,434 0 0
VIACOM INC NEW CL B 92553P201 330,475 3,954,000 SH   DFND 4 3,954,000 0 0
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WASHINGTON POST CO CL B 939640108 90,670 148,311 SH   DFND 1,2,4,11 0 0 148,311
WASHINGTON POST CO CL B 939640108 396,256 648,165 SH   DFND 4,10 0 0 648,165
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WASHINGTON POST CO CL B 939640108 22,611 36,985 SH   DFND 4,12 0 0 36,985
WELLS FARGO & CO NEW COM 949746101 276,822 6,699,470 SH   DFND 4 6,699,470 0 0
WELLS FARGO & CO NEW COM 949746101 661,120 16,000,000 SH   DFND 1,2,4,11 16,000,000 0 0
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Kee Koon Boon (“KB”) is the co-founder and director of HERO Investment Management which provides specialized fund management and investment advisory services to the ARCHEA Asia HERO Innovators Fund (www.heroinnovator.com), the only Asian SMID-cap tech-focused fund in the industry. KB is an internationally featured investor rooted in the principles of value investing for over a decade as a fund manager and analyst in the Asian capital markets who started his career at a boutique hedge fund in Singapore where he was with the firm since 2002 and was also part of the core investment committee in significantly outperforming the index in the 10-year-plus-old flagship Asian fund. He was also the portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equities at Korea’s largest mutual fund company. Prior to setting up the H.E.R.O. Innovators Fund, KB was the Chief Investment Officer & CEO of a Singapore Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) where he is responsible for listed Asian equity investments. KB had taught accounting at the Singapore Management University (SMU) as a faculty member and also pioneered the 15-week course on Accounting Fraud in Asia as an official module at SMU. KB remains grateful and honored to be invited by Singapore’s financial regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to present to their top management team about implementing a world’s first fact-based forward-looking fraud detection framework to bring about benefits for the capital markets in Singapore and for the public and investment community. KB also served the community in sharing his insights in writing articles about value investing and corporate governance in the media that include Business Times, Straits Times, Jakarta Post, Manual of Ideas, Investopedia, TedXWallStreet. He had also presented in top investment, banking and finance conferences in America, Italy, Sydney, Cape Town, HK, China. He has trained CEOs, entrepreneurs, CFOs, management executives in business strategy & business model innovation in Singapore, HK and China.

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