Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) sold 1.75 million shares of Moody’s Corp. (MCO), reducing its stake in the ratings firm by about 6.1% as the stock reached a high last seen in the summer of 2007.
Berkshire remains the ratings firm’s largest shareholder, with a stake of about 26.7 million shares, or 12%. Berkshire sold the shares beginning on Monday and continuing through Wednesday, according to a filing with securities regulators late Wednesday. The company sold the stock for prices ranging from about $59.93 to $60.94 a share, the filing said.
Shares of Moody’s rose sharply this week after news Friday that the ratings company was among firms that settled lawsuits accusing them of inflating and concealing the risks in mortgage-related deals.
Berkshire is a longtime shareholder of Moody’s, but has pared his stake from 48 million shares in 2009. Mr. Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive, testified before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that he appreciated the firm’s “duopoly” with rival Standard & Poor’s.
Source: Morning Star
