We have been wondering what Warren Buffett does to his other two railroad holdings. Today Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A, BRK-B) reported that Warren Buffett reduced his stake in railway companies Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC, Financial) and Norfolk Southern Corp (UNP, Financial).
Warren Buffett's holding in Union Pacific fell to 7.41 million shares valued at $853.4 million as of June 30, from 10.5 million shares on March 31. His Norfolk Southern stake fell to 3.76 million shares valued at $197.51 million on June 30, from 6.36 million shares on March 31. Warren Buffett kept the information confidential during his filing in August.
Warren Buffett has been adding to his largest railroad holding, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. He added 7.85 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI, Financial) on Oct. 3, and 1.6 million shares on 08/07, and 1.4 million shares from 8/15 to 8/16 at prices around $76.5 and $78.96, 10 million more shares from 8/23 to 8/27 at prices around $80. After the recent purchases, Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 60 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., which is about 17.2% of the company. His most recent purchases were from exercising options disclosed on Sept. 20.
Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, commented during the annual meeting of Wesco Financial (WSC) about the railroad purchases of Berkshire Hathaway. He said that Buffett and he himself “used to not like them because they needed large amounts of capital, had tough unions, and stiff competition from the trucking business. The paradigm had shifted. Now the railroad industry has a competitive advantage by double-stacking freight. With all of the imports from China , the U.S. has a huge amount of freight being sent across the county.”
Our Columnist Mike Rubsam thinks that BNI has a network that spans from the Pacific through the heartland and to the Gulf of Mexico , and the rail lines through the Dakotas and Montana owned by Burlington Northern will make it potentially even more valuable than Union Pacific. Is that the reason why Warren Buffett buys BNI, and sells UNP and NSC?
Warren Buffett's holding in Union Pacific fell to 7.41 million shares valued at $853.4 million as of June 30, from 10.5 million shares on March 31. His Norfolk Southern stake fell to 3.76 million shares valued at $197.51 million on June 30, from 6.36 million shares on March 31. Warren Buffett kept the information confidential during his filing in August.
Warren Buffett has been adding to his largest railroad holding, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. He added 7.85 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI, Financial) on Oct. 3, and 1.6 million shares on 08/07, and 1.4 million shares from 8/15 to 8/16 at prices around $76.5 and $78.96, 10 million more shares from 8/23 to 8/27 at prices around $80. After the recent purchases, Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 60 million shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., which is about 17.2% of the company. His most recent purchases were from exercising options disclosed on Sept. 20.
Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, commented during the annual meeting of Wesco Financial (WSC) about the railroad purchases of Berkshire Hathaway. He said that Buffett and he himself “used to not like them because they needed large amounts of capital, had tough unions, and stiff competition from the trucking business. The paradigm had shifted. Now the railroad industry has a competitive advantage by double-stacking freight. With all of the imports from China , the U.S. has a huge amount of freight being sent across the county.”
Our Columnist Mike Rubsam thinks that BNI has a network that spans from the Pacific through the heartland and to the Gulf of Mexico , and the rail lines through the Dakotas and Montana owned by Burlington Northern will make it potentially even more valuable than Union Pacific. Is that the reason why Warren Buffett buys BNI, and sells UNP and NSC?
