Via The Detroit News
Washington — Billionaire Warren Buffett’s investment arm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold a quarter of its stake in General Motors Co., cutting its stake to 30 million shares, the company said in a filing Thursday.
Another major investor, David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Inc., sold his fund’s entire 17 million share stake in GM in the first three months of the year. It also sold its stake in Delphi Automotive, which has also come under scrutiny for its role in GM’s ignition switch recall crisis.
Billionaire George Soros, another major investor, sold a large chunk of his GM stake in his New York-based Soros Fund Management.
He shrank his stake in GM from 4.9 million to 3 million shares, along with his “call” options” in GM stock from 1.4 million to 389,000 shares.
Leon Cooperman's Omega Advisors fund also sold its 1 million share stake in GM.
GM shares closed down 1.7 percent to $34.36, off $0.58, on news GM was issuing five new recall campaigns totaling almost 3 million vehicles worldwide. Buffett’s stake is worth $1.03 billion.
Berkshire Hathway had last said in August 2013 it had boosted its stake by 60 percent to 40 million shares, bringing the company’s holdings to 2.9 percent of outstanding GM stock.
The firm initially purchased 10 million shares in 2012, when the stock was trading in the low $20-per-share price. This year GM’s stock has been hit hard by the recall crisis and is down nearly 16 percent for the year.
Buffett recently had lunch with GM CEO Mary Barra and gave her a strong vote of confidence in how she is running the company. Buffett also said he thought GM would accept liability for crashes that took place before the company filed for bankruptcy.
“She’s dynamite. You couldn’t have a better executive,” Buffett told CNN earlier this month. “I was really impressed.”
GM declined to comment on Barra’s lunch with Buffett.
GM returned to the S&P 500 during the second quarter of 2013, a milestone triggered in part by the U.S. Treasury reducing its GM stake. The Treasury completed its exit from GM in December.
Berkshire Hathaway has major investments in auto insurance, life insurance, annuity sales and sales of jewelry. It holds large stakes in other major companies, including Coca-Cola Co.
Not all investors sold their GM stock.
Two big investors added to their GM stakes, including billionaire David Tepper's Appalossa Management, which now owns 7.9 million shares, and John Paulson, who more than doubled his stake, to 4 million.
Tepper's Appaloosa Management LP added nearly 3 million shares, according to a filing.
Tepper once sought to buy Delphi but later abandoned the bid.
GM spokesman Tom Henderson said the automaker doesn't “comment on market activities including stock sales.”
