In an extremely rare move, a senior executive at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A/BRK.B) has sold a large chunk of company stock that he owned.
Vice Chairman Ajit Jain, who is one of Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett’s top lieutenants, has sold $139 million U.S. of company stock, reducing his holdings by more than 50%.
The unusual stock sale, and its size, could be viewed as a negative sign by investors and financial markets.
In addition to his role as vice chairman, Jain also sits on Berkshire Hathaway’s board of directors and runs its insurance operations, which the company was built on under Buffett’s leadership.
Jain, age 73, sold 200 Berkshire Class A shares at an average price of $695,418 U.S. on Sept. 9, according to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Prior to the sale, Jain, who has worked at Berkshire Hathaway since 1986, had one of the largest holdings of company stock.
Jain now owns 61 Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway directly and another 55 Class A shares through trusts established by himself and his spouse.
In his annual shareholder letters, Buffett has repeatedly praised Jain and his running of Berkshire’s insurance operations. Buffett has also said that Jain is the employee he is closest with at Berkshire Hathaway.
“If you meet Ajit at the annual meeting, bow deeply,” Buffett wrote in his 2012 shareholder letter.
Jain currently earns about $20 million U.S. a year at Berkshire. There was speculation that Jain might succeed Buffett as CEO, but that role will fall to vice-chairman of non-insurance operations Greg Abel.
Buffett has famously never sold a single share he owns of Berkshire Hathaway, and frequently tells shareholders to stay invested in the company long-term.
It is not known publicly why Jain reduced his holdings of Berkshire stock. However, the stock sale comes shortly after Berkshire Hathaway became the first non-tech company to achieve a $1 trillion U.S. market capitalization, and as the shares trade near an all-time high.
Berkshire Hathaway’s more affordable Class B stock is currently trading at $453.10 U.S. per share, up 25% year to date.
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