Posts for Ticker ‘KMX’

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q3-2009 Holdings A to F (BRK-A, AXP, BAC, BDX, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COP, COST, XOM, ETN)

BuffettImage gates foundation Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has shown its Q3-2009 holdings as of September 30, 2009.  We had already seen how his securities holdings were up on the books in the holdings with earnings.  There are also some portfolio changes that have taken place since the September 30 cut-off date.  These have been broken down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so it is more concise and clear.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘A ot F.’

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5 million shares; same as last quarter.
  • Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) 1.2 million shares, same as last quarter.
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) was reported as 76.77 million shares but frankly it does not really matter as BNSF is becoming part of Berkshire.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 9 million shares is same as last quarter.
  • Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) right at 200 million shares, still same as before.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) roughly 1.5 million shares, same as before.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 57.43 million shares, DOWN FROM 62.485 million at the end of June.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
  • Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) is a NEW HOLDING of 1.276 million shares.

Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) was NOT LISTED ANY LONGER, so sold from holdings.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS G to O

BUFFETT HOLDINGS P to Z

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JON C. OGG

Posted on: November 16, 2009 – 4:33 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bill Gates Goes Deeper Into Autos (AN, MSFT, KMX, BRK-A)

Bill Gates ImageWe noted just last week that Bill Gates was getting more entrenched in the waste disposal sector.  It turns out that Mr. Gates is getting deeper into the auto-retailing sector as well.  In an SEC filing after the closing bell, Gates added some 500,000 shares to his stake of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN).  His Cascade Investment LLC investment vehicle bought 483,800 at a weighted average price of $17.608 and bought another 16,200 shares at a weighted average price of $18.217.  Both transaction dates took place on October 29, 2009.
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Posted on: November 2, 2009 – 5:23 pm in Activist Investor, Autos, Buffett, Insider Activity, , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (BLK, KMX, CTL, INET, LOW, STX, LUV, WWWW)

These are the top pre-market early bird analyst upgrades and positive research calls seen from Wall Street early this Wednesday morning:

Blackrock (BLK) upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
CarMax (KMX) upgraded to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
CenturyTel (CTL) upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Internet Brands (INET) Started as Buy at Canaccord.
Lowe’s (LOW) upgraded to Outperform at FBR.
Seagate (STX) upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank; upgraded to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
Soutwest Air (LUV) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Web.com (WWWW) upgraded to Outperform at FBR Capital.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 23, 2009 – 8:06 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q2-2009 Holdings A to F (BRK-A, AXP, BAC, BDX, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COP, COST, ETN, CEG)

Buffett ImageBerkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) has shown its Q2-2009  holdings as of June 30, 2009.  There are some portfolio changes that have been seen here from the end of Q1 and we have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and  ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these are easier to see on one page.  Here are Warren Buffett’s holdings and accompanying notes for the group ‘A ot F.’

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, same as  before.
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5 million shares; same as last quarter.
  • Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE: BDX) appears to b a new holding over last quarter according to our records.  Berkshire holds 1.2 million shares (listed in SEC filing as Beckton Dickson).
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) 76.77 million shares; same as Q1 after the Q1 position was raised from Q4.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 9 million shares is lower than the 12 million in Q1 and marks three straight quarters of declines.
  • Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) right at 200 million shares, still has stayed the same as before.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) roughly 1.5 million shares, same as before.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was listed as 62.485 million, which is officially lower than the Q1 period but we had already been told of cuts after that date so mostly the same.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
  • Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) 3.2 million shares; looks like new holding but may have been missed before.
  • Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) appears to be completely sold off now.,but this was already being cut.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS G o O

BUFFETT HOLDINGS P to Z

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JON C. OGG
AUGUST 14, 2009

Posted on: August 14, 2009 – 4:45 pm in Buffett, Buffett Holdings, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Which Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stocks Bounced The Most? (BRK-A, BAC, WFC, KMX, GE, GCI, IR, USG)

Buffett ImageWe recently gave a list of companies which we thought Warren Buffett might want to consider selling or lightening up on after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) disclosed that it had finally decided to lighten up on its giant stake in Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO).  But an interesting question was brought up as a result of this.  Whether Buffett decides to unload stocks or not…. Which Buffett holdings have actually managed to bounce the most from their lows?  With today being month-end, we wanted to run some numbers here.  We already noted yesterday that if and when we see a 1,000 close on the S&P 500 Index it marks a 50% gain from the market lows in March.  There has been a huge bounce in his banking stocks, with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) bouncing some 466% from the lows and a 214% bounce in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).
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Posted on: July 31, 2009 – 3:19 pm in Buffett, Conglomerates, , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Upgrades (AXP, KMX, CNQ, COF, CERN, CVD, ENOC, QLGC, QCOM, DIS)

These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive initiations we have seen early this Thursday morning:
American Express (AXP) Raised to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
CarMax (KMX) Started as Buy at Rochdale.
Canadian Natural (CNQ) Raised to outperform at CIBC.
Capital One (COF) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Cerner (CERN) Started as Outperform at William Blair.
Covance CVD) Started as Outperform at JPMorgan.
enerNOC (ENOC) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
QLogic (QLGC) Raised to Buy at ThinkEquity.
QUALCOMM (QCOM) Started as Outperform at RBC.
Walt Disney (DIS) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: July 16, 2009 – 7:18 am in Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ACN, ASCA, KMX, DNDN, FRO, MEOH, PGR, VRSN, WAT)

These are the top ten analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street early this Monday morning with more than two hours until the market opens:

  • Accenture (ACN) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
  • Ameristar Casinos (ASCA) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • CarMax (KMX) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  • Dendreon (DNDN) Raised to Hold from Sell at McAdams Wright Ragen.
  • Frontline Ltd. (FRO) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
  • Methanex (MEOH) Cut to Outperform at Raymond James.
  • Progressive (PGR) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • VeriSign (VRSN) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Waters (WAT) Raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
June 22, 2009

Posted on: June 22, 2009 – 6:23 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Q1-2009 Holdings A to F (BRK-A, AXP, BAC, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COP, CEG, COST, ETN)

Buffett ImageWe have just gotten the Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(BRK-B) holdings for the end of Q1-2009.  The cut off date here was March 31, 2009 and there are some changes that have been seen here from the e3nd of Q4.  We have broken these down into 3 groups of ‘A to F’ and  ‘G to O’ and ‘P to Z’ so these fit on one page easier.  Here is the list ‘A ot F.’

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, same as  before.
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5 million shares; same as last quarter.
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) 76.77 million shares; HIGHER than 70.089 million shares of last quarter.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 12 million shares; LOWER than the 17.63 million and that is two straight quarters of declines.
  • Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) right at 200 million shares, still same as before.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) roughly 1.5 million shares, same as before.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is really lower than the 71.228 million reported as this has been used for cutting taxes, and we already know that the number is lower than what the filing says.
  • Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) was just updated this week so the number is actually about 12.4 million rather than what the filing shows as being 14.828 million shares.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
  • Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) 3.2 million shares; looks like new holding but may have been missed before.

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “G to O”

Here is the full list of Buffett holdings “P to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2009

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 4:06 pm in Activist Investor, Banking, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Analyst Downgrades (AKAM, BMY, KMX, ESLR, GOL, HGSI, MON, SCHN, TDC, UA, DIS, WFMI)

These are the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Friday morning:

Akamai Tech (AKAM) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
CarMax (KMX) Cut to Underperform at Wachovia.
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) Started as Sell at Canaccord Adams.
GOL Linhas Areas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Monsanto (MON) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Schnitzer Steel (SCHN) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Teradata (TDC) Started as Underweight at Thomas Weisel.
Under Armour (UA) Cut to “Negative” at Susquehanna.
Walt Disney (DIS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Whole Foods (WFMI) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 3, 2009 – 7:04 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Disclose Holdings A to G (BRK-A, AXP, BAC, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COP, CEG, COST, GCI, GE, GSK)

buffett_image3It’s that time again.  Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) have filed with the SEC showing what the Oracle of Omaha owns in public stocks as of the quarter or as of December 31, 2008 in this case:  These are broken out alphabetically by company from A to G, along with some color on each stock compared to prior report:

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares, looks same as before.
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5,000,000 shares; same as last quarter but lower than the 9.1 million shares reported in June.
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) 70.089 million shares, higher than the 63,785,418 shares reported previously but we already knew this one was higher from prior transactions.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 17.63 million, down from 18.444 million last quarter.
  • Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) right at 200,000,000 shares, same as before.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares, same as before.
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) just over 1.5 million shares, same as before.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 79.896 million, above the 59.688 million in one unit, but was previously about 83.9 million total.  Hard to know if this is a real change or just more reporting or more/less units….
  • Constellation Energy Group (NYSE: CEG) 19.897 million shares, but this may have already ended after the last merger.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares, same as before.
  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares, same as before.
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares, same as before but that does not include the 10% interest bought last year.
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, same as before.

BUFFETT HOLDINGS “H to R”

BUFFETT HOLDINGS “S to Z”

Jon C. Ogg
February 17, 2009

Posted on: February 17, 2009 – 5:54 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Financial Stocks, Mutual Funds, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stocks A-H (AXP, BUD, BAC, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, COP, CDCO, COST, GCI, GE, GSK, HD)

Buffett_imageThese are some of the changes we have seen in the holdings of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).  We have consolidated these into groups and this group is alphabetical from A to H for the quarter ended on September 30, 2008:

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) 151,610,700 shares
  • Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD) taken to 13,845,000 shares, from under under 15 million last quarter and from over 35 million in March
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 5,000,000 shares; DOWN from 9.1 million shares in June      
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) 63,785,418 shares (although higher now)
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 18,444,100; DOWN from 21.3 million shares in June
  • Coca Cola (NYSE: KO)  200,000,000 shares (same)
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares (same)
  • Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) over 1.5 million shares
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 59,688,000 in one unit, but about 83.9 million total; position was known about generally last quarter, but the size had been kept confidential.
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares (same)
  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares (same)
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares (same Sept., but now more)
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares (same)
  • Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) 3.7 Million shares; Down from 4,181,000 in June

Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) was also listed as a new position for Berkshire, with more than 2.9 million shares being listed as the new position.

BUFFETT’S HOLDINGS "I to S"
BUFFETT’s HOLDINGS "T to Z"

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Jon C. Ogg
November 14, 2008

Posted on: November 14, 2008 – 5:30 pm in Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings A-G (AXP, BUD, BAC, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDCO, COST, GCI, GE, GSK)

Buffett_image_2So far there are some changes seen in the holdings of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A).  We have consolidated these into groups and this group is from A to G, and this is for the quarter ended on June 30, 2008:

  • American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) over 151.6 million shares.       
  • Anheuser Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD) taken to under 15 million shares from over 35 million shares on last report
  • Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) 9.1 million shares         
  • Burlington Northern Santa Fe  (NYSE: BNI) 63,785,418 shares
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 21.3 million shares
  • Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) roughly 200 million shares
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares
  • Comdisco Holdings (CDCO) over 1.5 million shares
  • Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5.254 million shares
  • Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) 3.447 million shares
  • General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares
  • GlaxoSmithkline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares

We have also broken the other Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway holdings in two groups:

Jon C. Ogg
August 14, 2008

Posted on: August 14, 2008 – 9:34 pm in Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Financial Stocks, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (AIG, ANEN, AVP, KMX, CTRN, EW, FMX, LAMR, TRMK, VMW)

These are not all of the downgrades or negative calls we are seeing, but these are the stand out calls early this Thursday morning:

  • AIG (AIG) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
  • Anaren (ANEN) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Avon Products (AVP) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • CarMax (KMX) Cut to Market Perform at Raymond James.
  • Citi Trends (CTRN) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Edwards Lifesciences (EW) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Femsa (FMX) Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley.
  • Lamar Advertising (LAMR) Started as Sell at Citigroup.
  • Trustmark (TRMK) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • VMware (VMW) Started as Underperform at Bernstein.

Jon C. Ogg
August 7, 2008

Posted on: August 7, 2008 – 6:07 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings A-H (BRK-A, BRK-B, AXP, BUD, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDO, COP, COST, GCI, GSK, HD)

After today’s close, we got to see which stocks that Warren Buffett Held in the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) as of March 31, 2008.  Buffett’s filing cut off date as he has 45-days to make his filings.  Below is a snapshot of the various holdings, and we broke these down as they were in the fed filings.  Some have multiple positions because of the various entities that are held.  Here goes:

American Express (NYSE: AXP) $753M for 17,225,400 shares.

  •     $349M 7,994,634 shares
  •     $5.25B for 120,255,879 shares
  •     $84.9M for 1,943,100 shares
  •     $61M for 1,399,713 shares
  •     $36.7M for 839,832 shares
  •     $85.3M for 1,952,142 shares

Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD)

  •     $1.678 BIL for 35,371,000 shares
  •     $9,120 for 192,200 shares

Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe NYSE: BNI) increased position

  •     $5.88B for 63,785,418 shares

Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX)

  •     $413.6M for 21,300,000 shares

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)

  •     $108.1M for 1,776,000 shares
  •     $438.6M for 7,205,600 shares
  •     $2.443 BIL for 40,141,600 shares
  •     $8.518 BIL for 139,945,600 shares
  •     $556.3M for 9,139,200 shares
  •     $29.2M for 480,000 shares
  •     $55.5M for 912,000 shares

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)

  •     $227.6M  12,000,000 shares

Comdisco (NYSE: CDO) very small position still…..
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)

  •     $1.334 BIL for 17,508,700 shares

CostCo Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST)

  •     $341.3M for 5,254,000 shares

Gannett (NYSE: GCI)

  •     $100.1M for 3,447,600 shares

General Electric (NYSE: GE)

  •     $287.8M for 7,777,900 shares

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) small position
Home Depot (NYSE: HD)

  •     $116.9M for 4,181,000 shares

Very Small Position defined as "under $100 Million."  That may be an empire for the rest of us, but it isn’t worth nothing on Mr. Buffett’s scale.

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Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings I – S

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings T – Z

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2008

Posted on: May 15, 2008 – 5:08 pm in Buffett, Buffett Holdings, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The CarMax Hurdle (KMX, BRK.A)

This morning, Business Week in its "INSIDE WALL STREET" section has featured CarMax (NYSE: KMX) positively, mainly noting that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK/A) raised his stake by another half recently to 9.6%.  The article notes that this one only has a 2% market share and could become a Wal-Mart for cars, let alone it having some 28% earnings growth.  This also notes that while the $20.02 level (actually closed at $19.12 yesterday), leaves a 25% upside to Lehman Brothers’ $25.00 target.

We would note that Lehman doesn’t have the highest target out there, but it looks like the average price target is under $22.00.  The truth is that CarMax as a business does have a decent business model in that you can sell your car easily and you don’t have all the games on the car lot like you are dealing with gypsy horse traders.  But there is a real issue that very few really address here.  If you have ever gone out and price shopped CarMax as a buyer or as a seller, you might think twice.  The company has significantly higher priced cars than you can find elsewhere and its "guaranteed buy prices" leave a lot to be desired if you need to sell your car.

There is merit that you have an ease of the transaction here, and their cars do come with a quality assurance and some initial guarantees here.  It isn’t all bad.  But the cost differential is substantial.  There are many risks in buying and selling cars, but Business Week looks like it only did some Warren Buffett chasing here and very few have publicly addressed the key business issues at hand here.  If you don’t believe it, go to the lot after you have done real price comparisons as a buyer and a seller.  As a strapped U.S. consumer is looking for ways to save $1,000.00 per year here and there, this is an issue that needs to be considered.

Jon C. Ogg
February 29, 2008

Posted on: February 29, 2008 – 7:53 am in Autos, Buffett, Retail, ,

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Holdings A-G (BRK-A, BRK-B, AXP, AMP, BUD, BNI, KMX, KO, CMCSA, CDO, COP, COST, GCI, GSK)

These are the new combined holdings (alphabetically A-G) from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) for the period ended December 31, 2007:

  • American Express (NYSE: AXP) 151.6 million shares for a value of more than $7.8 Billion.
  • Ameriprise (NYSE: AMP) 661,742 shares listed as worth some $36.4 million, why even bother…
  • Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) 35.56 million shares totaling some $1.87 Billion.
  • Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe NYSE: BNI) 60.828 million shares worth some $5.06 Billion.
  • Carmax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) 21 million shares worth some $414.7 million.
  • Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) 200 million shares for some $12.27 Billion.
  • Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) 12 million shares for some $217.4 million.
  • Comdisco (NYSE: CDO) 1.53 million shares for some $14 million, why even bother….
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) 17.5 million shares for some $1.546 Billion.
  • CosctCo Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 5,254,000 million shares for some $366 million.
  • Gannett (NYSE: GCI) 3,447,600 shares for some $134.45 million.
  • General Electric (NYSE: GE) 7.777 million shares for some $288.3 million.
  • GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares for $76.1 million.

Buffett’s Full List of holdings alphabetically H-P
Buffett’s Full List of holdings alphabetically S-Z

Jon C. Ogg
February 14, 2008

 

Posted on: February 14, 2008 – 5:56 pm in Buffett, Buffett Holdings, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If Banks Are Good For Warren Buffett, Are They Good For You? (WFC, USB, BAC, KMX, UNH, WLP, BNI, BRK-A)

Last night came the filing from Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) showing its public company stock holdings as of September 30, 2007.  Berkshire’s four largest holdings in the report are American Express (NYSE:AXP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX), the largest used car seller in the U.S., was a new holding and listed as almost 14 million shares.  Frankly, this was surprising since auto sales (new and used) are not expected to turn yet.  Mr. Buffett must have been impressed with their streamlined approach to underpaying for inventory and overcharging for sales.  If you don’t believe they underpay or overcharge, go price shop their trade-in offer and their sales prices.  Nonetheless, shares of KMX are up 8% today.

Buffett added to stakes in three large U.S. banks with increased stakes in Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC).  U.S. Bancorp was actually one we thought Warren Buffett might outright acquire US Bancorp as part of one of his "whale of an acquisitions" he’s never gotten around to.  Interestingly enough, the CEO of Wells Fargo was speaking at a Merrill Lynch banking conference today and said Wells Fargo’s exposure to CDO’s and asset-backed commercial paper is minimal.  He also noted that the nationwide housing market is now the worst since the Depression (he must have forgotten about Texas in the 1980’s) and is far from over.  Mr. Buffett probably wishes he would keep quiet since Wells Fargo shares are down 3% today.  Bank stocks are mostly lower today.

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Posted on: November 15, 2007 – 1:19 pm in Buffett, , , , , , , ,

CarMax & AutoNation Enter Hall of Shame (AN, KMX)

After perusing the daily 52-week lows, there were two names that make perfect sense on the list if the consumer is slowing and if auto sales (new and used) are heading south: CarMax (NYSE:KMX) and AutoNation (NYSE:AN). 

Just last week CarMax came clean and lowered its prior guidance of $1.03 to $1.14 EPS down to a newer $0.92 to $0.98 EPS.  Its shares got hit last week on this by well over 10%, and shares are lower again today by more than 2%.  Shares are at $20.39, but this is above the lows of the day and slightly back above the $20.33 52-week lows.

AutoNation’s CEO said at the end of August that the FOMC would need to cut rates multiple times to save the economy, and a couple weeks before that in mid-August Goldman Sachs cut its rating from an already unpleasant "Neutral" to an outright dreaded "Sell" rating as it believed an earnings miss was possible.  AutoNation shares are down almost 3% at $17.10 today, and that is under the $17.42 prior 52-week low.

But here are the issues running oil alone:

You’d think at some point this gets adequately factored into the market.  But that is the efficient market theory, and everyone knows by now with homebuilders on the 52-week lows day in and day out that markets don’t know how to be efficient.

Many people don’t like George Soros anymore, but he has one great statement that has been far easier to prove than to disprove: "Contrary to the tenets of market fundamentalism, financial markets do not tend towards equilibrium; they are crisis prone."

Jon C. Ogg
September 25, 2007

Posted on: September 25, 2007 – 10:45 am in Autos, HI/LOW, Oil & Gas, ,

Pre-Market Stock News (September 19, 2007)

(AIR) AAR Corp. $0.36 EPS vs $0.39 est.
(CMO) Capstead Mortgage will sell 8.5M shares of common stock.
(DT) Deutsche Telecom’s T-Mobile won iPhone exclusivity in Germany.
(EPAY) Bottomline Technologies announced a strategic pact with Wipro Technologies of Wipro to provide corporate payments and global cash management solutions to financial institutions.
(ETEL) eTelecare Global (ETEL) is acquiring AOL’s Customer Care & Technical Support subsidiary.
(GIS) General Mills $0.81 EPS vs $0.79 estimate.
(KMX) CarMax $0.29 EPS vs $0.29e; lowered 2008 guidance to $0.92-0.98 vs. prior guidance of $1.03-1.14.
(KWD) Kellwood received a $21 non-binding offer proposal from Sun Capital.
(LEND) Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. trading up 17% at $11.50 as Lone Star and it agreed on a lowered $11.75 buyout price.
(MS) $1.38 EPS vs $1.54 estimate; will take $940 million or $0.33 per share in writedowns; $480 million in quantitative strategies.
(PAA) Plains All American Pipeline’s subsidiary Plains L.P.G. Services has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Tirzah L.P.G. storage facility from Suburban Propane and Suburban Pipeline for approximately $55 million.
(RNVS) Renovis to be acquired by Evotec in an all stock transaction valued at approximately US$ 151.8 million.
(TASR) TASER won a U.S. Forest Service purchase order for 700 TASER X26 electronic control devices.
(XMSR/SIRI) XM & Sirius trading down on UBS downgrade, and Wisconsin AG sent letter to US Atty General asking him to block the merger.

Jon C. Ogg
September 19, 2007

Posted on: September 19, 2007 – 7:34 am in Pre-Market Activity, , , , , , , , ,