Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio) made only two transactions in the third quarter. It’s a low volume compared to most of the gurus we follow, but when you’ve founded Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) and you’re the richest man in the world – with an estimated net worth of nearly $83 billion – you don’t need to prove anything.
Gates added to his stake in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B, Financial), Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)’s Omaha, Neb.-based conglomerate holding company, and he reduced his stake in BP PLC (BP, Financial), a London-based oil and gas company.
Gates raised his stake in Berkshire Hathaway – on whose board he sits – by nearly 16%, purchasing 10,756,234 shares for an average price of $137 per share. The transaction had an 8.14% impact on Gates’ portfolio.
Berkshire Hathaway has a market cap of $328.87 billion and an enterprise value of $350.55 billion. It has a P/E of 14.6, a forward P/E of 13.6, a P/B of 1.3 and a P/S of 1.6. GuruFocus has given Berkshire Hathaway a Financial Strength rating of 4/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 7/10.
Gates is Berkshire Hathaway’s leading guru shareholder of the BRK.B stock with 79,381,548 shares in his portfolio. Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Ruane Cunniff (Trades, Portfolio), David Rolfe (Trades, Portfolio), Lou Simpson (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio), Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Gayner (Trades, Portfolio), Chris Davis (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Akre (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio), Charles de Vaulx (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Arnold Van Den Berg (Trades, Portfolio), Bruce Berkowitz (Trades, Portfolio), Scott Black (Trades, Portfolio), Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), John Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), Whitney Tilson (Trades, Portfolio), Zeke Ashton (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), Prem Watsa (Trades, Portfolio), Dodge & Cox, Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), Donald Yacktman (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio), First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio), Tweedy Browne (Trades, Portfolio) Global Value, Bestinfond (Trades, Portfolio) and Wintergreen Fund (Trades, Portfolio) also have shares of Berkshire Hathaway’s BRK.B stock in their portfolios.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, Financial) sold for $134.09 per share Monday afternoon.
Gates reduced his stake in BP by more than 18%, selling 1,374,857 shares for an average price of $34.83 per share. The deal had a -0.32% impact on Gates’ portfolio.
BP has a market cap of $105.82 billion and an enterprise value of $132.45 billion. It has a forward P/E of 15.8, a P/B of 1.1 and a P/S of 0.4. GuruFocus has given BP a Financial Strength rating of 7/10 and a Profitability and Growth rating of 6/10.
James Barrow (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Pzena (Trades, Portfolio), Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio), T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio), Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio), Kahn Brothers (Trades, Portfolio), Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Jeff Auxier (Trades, Portfolio), John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio), Manning & Napier Advisors Inc., Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Prem Watsa (Trades, Portfolio), Francis Chou (Trades, Portfolio), Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) and First Eagle Investment (Trades, Portfolio) have shares of BP in their portfolios.
On Monday BP sold for $34.6 per share.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Monday to let stand a lower court ruling that three Mexican states could not seek damages from BP and other companies over the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A similar lawsuit filed by the Mexican federal government in 2013 is working its way through the courts.
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