All-time high for Berkshire shares

Berkshire shares hit new heights but still lag S&P for year

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE FRI, DEC 13, 2019 WARREN BUFFETT WATCH Berkshire stock hits all-time high Shares of Berkshire Hathaway hit an all-time high Thursday of 339,769.60. That tops the previous high set in the fall of 2018. They closed today around 338,080. The current market value of the company is more than $552 billion.     The more widely-held Class B shares also hit a new high: 226.52.   Despite the new heights, Berkshire is still far behind the benchmark S&P 500 stock index. It's up more than 26% so far this year. Both Berkshire shares classes are up around 10.7%. Tracy Britt Cool sets post-Berkshire course Tracy Britt Cool, hired by Warren Buffett in 2009 when she was 25, has a new gig now that she's leaving Berkshire Hathaway.   She's joining the board of a new $340 million acquisitions vehicle called EverArc that will be listed in London.  It will look for companies that are too small for Berkshire.     As CEO of Berkshire subsidiary Pampered Chef, she helped turn around the kitchenware company.   Speaking days ago at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Next Gen conference, Britt Cool sounded a lot like Buffett himself when she said, "The number one thing you have to start with in companies is the people. Do you have the right people? If not you have to find them, and create a culture and strategy with them." Berkshire board member said to be leaving his day job NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke plans to step down when his contract expires in August, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC.   Burke has been on Berkshire Hathaway's board of directors since 2009.   His father, Daniel Burke, along with current Berkshire board member Tom Murphy, helped build Capital Cities with its 1986 purchase of ABC, a $3.5 billion deal backed by Berkshire through a share purchase.    In 1995, Walt Disney bought Cap Cities/ABC, generating a profit of more than $2 billion for Berkshire.   At the time Steve Burke joined the Berkshire board, Buffett was quoted in a statement as saying he "is business-savvy, owner-oriented and keenly interested in Berkshire, the three ingredients we look for in directors."   That interest may get even greater. The Hollywood Reporter says there "has been speculation that Burke may take a fuller role at Berkshire Hathaway given his close ties" to Buffett. BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription Morningstar asks "Is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway a Buy?" Yahoo Finance talked to a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder who explains why he "isn't frustrated  Warren Buffett won't spend nearly $130 billion in cash" The Tampa Bay Times reports "Tech Data had other suitors besides Warren Buffett" The Wall Street Journal has figured out "What Paul Volcker, Warren Buffett and Peloton Have in Common" BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH     BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS  Berkshire's top stock holdings by market value, based on today's closing prices. The number of shares held is as of September 30, 2019, as disclosed in the company's November 14 13F SEC filing.   The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.   QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)   If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.    -- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service   Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2019 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS