NEW YORK -- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said Tuesday it had added to its stakes in health care companies and major U.S. banks, and disclosed new investments in Bank of America Corp and Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co.
Omaha-based Berkshire said it owned 8.7 million shares of Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, valued at $425.3 million, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing showing investments by the company as of June 30.
Berkshire also reported larger stakes in Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp, the fifth- and sixth-largest U.S. banks. The stake in San Francisco-based Wells Fargo alone was valued at more than $9 billion at the end of June.
Separately, Berkshire reported higher stakes in three health-care companies compared with March 31 — Johnson & Johnson, French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA and health insurer WellPoint Inc. .
It also reported owning 2.78 million Dow Jones shares valued at $159.8 million as of June 30, a month before the publisher agreed to be acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for $60 per share.
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The filing did not say what Berkshire paid for the shares. Murdoch's offer was about 65 percent higher than where Dow Jones' shares had been trading.
In a May 6 news conference, after Murdoch's offer surfaced — and amid speculation that Buffett could be a "white knight" for Dow Jones — Buffett said the company carried extra cachet from the Journal's reputation and influence. This, he said, could explain why Dow Jones could fetch an above-market offer.
Buffett generally favors companies with stable, easy-to-understand businesses that are industry leaders and whose shares appear undervalued. Shares of companies often rise when Berkshire discloses new investment stakes.
Separately, Berkshire reported higher stakes as of June 30 in Procter & Gamble Co and Western Union Co, and a lowered stake in Ameriprise Financial Inc.
It did not report any holdings in H&R Block Inc and Pier 1 Imports Inc, and said it filed confidential information with the SEC about holdings in railroad companies Norfolk Southern Corp and Union Pacific Corp. Berkshire previously reported stakes in all four companies.
Regulators let Berkshire delay some disclosures so investors cannot mimic Buffett while he's buying and selling. Berkshire last week reported a higher, 11.5 percent stake in another railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. .
Berkshire owned more than $98 billion of common stock and fixed-income securities as of June, according to its latest quarterly report. It also owns more than 70 companies that make such things as ice cream, mobile homes, paint and underwear.
Berkshire Class A shares closed down $1,350 at $110,150, while the Class B shares fell $10.25 to $3,628.75. The company's market capitalization is about $169 billion.
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