Warren Buffett Keeps Riding the Reading Railroad (BRK-A, BNI)

A new SEC filing shows that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) has acquired even more shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI).  As the company’s shares have slid and slid, you have to wonder how much the Oracle of Omaha will keep buying.

Buffett bought some 2.325 million shares at anaverage price of roughly $75.00 via additional option exercises.  Thetotal value of the buy was listed as $174.375 million.  This now gives Berkshire a stake of more than 76.77 million shares or astake of about 22.4%.

The exercise date was listed as January 30.  Buffett is alreadytaking a bath here depending upon the premium he collected for writingthe put options.  Shares closed yesterday at $65.43. 

We have noted how many of Buffett’s recent investments have beenlosing money and how it has just not been a profitable strategy chasingafter Warren Buffett’s new investments.  It doesn’t mean Buffett is badfor you.  But holding a stock forever is not something that most investors to do.

Here was Buffett’s last FULL HOLDINGS which should be updated in thenext couple of weeks.  In that we also noted which positions he hadrecently upped the ante in or which were new investments.

Jon C. Ogg
February 3, 2009