Ajit Jain, Buffett's insurance leader for nearly 40 years, dumps more than half of Berkshire stake

Ajit Jain, Warren Buffett's security main and apical executive, sold much than fractional of his involvement successful Berkshire Hathaway, a caller regulatory filing showed.

The 73-year-old vice president of security operations dumped 200 shares of Berkshire Class A shares connected Monday astatine an mean terms of $695,418 per stock for astir $139 million. That near him holding conscionable 61 shares, portion household trusts established by himself and his spouse for the payment of his descendants clasp 55 shares and his nonprofit corporation, the Jain Foundation, owns 50 shares. Monday's merchantability represented 55% of his full involvement successful Berkshire.

The determination marked the biggest diminution successful Jain's holdings since helium joined Berkshire successful 1986. It's unclear what motivated Jain's sales, but helium did instrumentality vantage of Berkshire's caller precocious price. The conglomerate traded supra $700,000 to deed a $1 trillion marketplace capitalization at the extremity of August.

"This appears to beryllium a awesome that Ajit views Berkshire arsenic being afloat valued," said David Kass, a concern prof astatine the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. 

Berkshire Hathaway

It's besides accordant with a important slowdown successful Berkshire's stock buyback enactment arsenic of late. Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire repurchased just $345 million worthy of its ain banal successful the 2nd quarter, importantly little than the $2 billion repurchased successful each of the anterior 2 quarters.

"I deliberation astatine champion it is simply a motion that the banal is not cheap," said Bill Stone, CIO astatine Glenview Trust Co. and a Berkshire shareholder. "At implicit 1.6 times publication value, it is astir apt astir Buffett's blimpish estimation of intrinsic value. I don't expect many, if any, banal repurchases from Berkshire astir these levels."

The India-born Jain has played a important relation successful Berkshire's unmatched success. He facilitated a propulsion into the reinsurance manufacture and much precocious led a turnaround astatine Geico, Berkshire's crown jewel car security business. In 2018, Jain was named vice president of security operations and appointed to Berkshire's committee of directors.

"Ajit has created tens of billions of worth for Berkshire shareholders," Buffett wrote successful his yearly missive successful 2017. "If determination were ever to beryllium different Ajit and you could swap maine for him, don't hesitate. Make the trade!"

Before it was officially announced that Greg Abel, Berkshire's vice president of noninsurance operations, volition yet win the 94-year-old Buffett, determination were rumors astir Jain 1 time starring the conglomerate. Buffett precocious clarified that Jain "never wanted to tally Berkshire" and determination wasn't immoderate contention betwixt the two.