Buffett Sells More Moody's Shares

After making a big splash when his company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) showed an increased stake in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and a new stake in Fiserv (FISV), Warren Buffett's latest move came as no big surprise. The Oracle of Omaha continued to sell his stake in Moody's (MCO), the credit ratings agency faulted for contributing to the financial crisis because of the rating it issued to new and complex high-risk investments during the height of the housing bubble.

Berkshire Hathway sold just over 1.35 million shares between Sept. 10 and 14, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, reducing its stake to 29.43 million shares. There were three sales executed at prices of $25.10, $25.19 and $25.22 per share, for total proceeds of $33.97 million.

Berkshire's remaining stake is still a hefty 12.6% of Moody's, according to Reuters, down from 13.2% before the sales. Berkshire held close to 20% between 2000 and July 2009, when it began reducing its stake, despite Buffett defending credit rating agencies, during a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearing, for failing to spot the U.S. mortgage bubble that sparked the financial crisis.