WMT - Did Warren Buffett Trade Stocks Berkshire Hathaway Owned In His Private Stock Portfolio? | Benzinga
Warren Buffett is one of the most legendary stock traders of the last 50 years.
A new report paints a different picture of Buffett, with potential private trades being made that could represent a conflict of interest.
What Happened: Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK), a conglomerate that owns many companies across sectors and is also a top holder in several publicly traded companies.
When stock trades are disclosed by Berkshire Hathaway, the stocks often see a bump in price as traders attempt to follow Buffett's trading ideas.
A new report from ProPublica Thursday says confidential records show at least three occasions where Buffett sold stocks Berkshire was trading in his personal investment portfolio. The investigative journalism outlet said Buffett himself had previously said this would be a conflict of interest.
One instance highlighted by the report is a 2009 interview Buffett did with Fortune where he praised banking company Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). The bank stock was a holding in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio and shares had experienced several jumps as Buffett praised the stock during interviews.
The day the interview with Fortune was published, shares of Wells Fargo were up 13%. The report said Buffett sold $20 million in Wells Fargo stock in his personal stock account the same day.
ProPublica said it obtained the information reported Thursday from a a leak of IRS data that includes about two decades of Buffett’s personal ...