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Based on SEC filings, Warren Buffett may have bought back $5 billion in Berkshire stock.
In the past, Buffett has said he would be willing to buy back shares, provided they traded at a compelling discount to the market. He initially set a metric of 1.1 times the company’s book value, subsequently raised it to 1.2, and ultimately revised it to the vaguely-defined “below intrinsic value.”
This strict policy has resulted in a few small buybacks over the years, most notably in 2012 and 2018.
We still don’t know with absolute certainty if Berkshire repurchased the “missing” $5 billion worth of shares. If it did, the firm waited for a reasonably attractive valuation – and a time when the worst of the pandemic uncertainty had passed.