[GCI traded for $9.53 to $15.99 in fourth quarter as he sold]
Influential investor Warren Buffett (left) has sold one million of three million Gannett shares, The Street website is now reporting, as his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate shuffled its portfolio in the fourth quarter.The Street doesn't say when Berkshire sold its GCI shares, or the price. The stock traded between $9.53 and $15.99 during the quarter, Google Finance says. Today, it traded recently for $14.98. Buffett has been a significant investor in newspapers, including ownership of the The Buffalo News and a big stake in the Washington Post Co., where he's is a member of he board of directors.
Berkshire's sale follows news that one of Gannett's biggest investors, Brandes Investment Partners, sold virtually all its 23 million shares. And the company's No. 1 investor, Ariel Investments, reduced its stake by nearly three million shares.
At a minimum, these sales suggest some investors don't expect Gannett's stock to rise anytime soon. Some sales, such as Brandes', may be a decision to cut losses by the end of the 2009 tax year.
[Chart: Google Finance]
I could never figure out why he bought them in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a little unfair about this piece is that while it does mention that Buffett "shuffled" his portfolio, if you get into the details you see the scope was quite a lot larger than the uninformed would suspect from that mild term. Buffett bought a railroad (BNSF, their tracks run about 1/2 mile from my house) and to help fund that acquistion he dumped a whole lot of stock in other Berkshire holdings.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Even still, it definitely says something about the value of GCI if Buffett dumps a third of his holdings, even if he's only doing so to fund another acquisition.
ReplyDelete