According to a report by CNBC, citing a new 13F filing, Warren Buffett could be establishing a substantial stock position within the banking industry.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has asked regulatory authorities to keep one or more stock purchases confidential in the fourth quarter.
The last time Berkshire Hathaway kept a stock purchase secretive was when it acquired a stake in Chevron and in Verizon in 2020.
And, the latest financial stock that Berkshire acquired was Capital One Financial in Q1 of 2023.
But what could the name of the new “mystery” stock be? A 10Q filing by Berkshire from the third quarter revealed the company had acquired “banks, insurance and finance” stocks worth about $1.2 billion.
As of the end of 2023, the conglomerate had two Wall Street banks among its Top 10 holdings, with Bank of America being the second-largest in value – $34.8 billion. Berkshire also held a $2.8 billion stake in Citigroup.
Among the company’s Top 10 holdings were also stakes in American Express ($28.4 billion) and Moody’s ($9.6 billion).
According to David Kass, a finance professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and a shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett could be re-acquiring JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Buffett exited a series of bank stock positions in 2022 and early 2023, including Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.
“Buffett has always admired Jamie Dimon and has praised him frequently. Todd Combs has been on JPM’s board of directors since 2016 at age 44, and remains the youngest of its 12 directors today at age 52. JPM is generally acknowledged to be the best managed and most profitable bank,” Kass was quoted as saying by CNBC.
The identity of the mystery stock may be revealed at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in May.
JPMorgan Chase Stock Performance
The shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) closed 0.47% ($0.84) lower at $179.03 in New York on Friday, as they snapped a two-day streak of gains.
The Wall Street bank’s total market cap now stands at $515.016 billion.
The shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) went up 26.84% in 2023, compared with a 24.23% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
The financial group’s shares have risen 5.25% so far this year.
Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation for JPM
According to TipRanks, at least 17 out of 23 surveyed investment analysts had rated JPMorgan Chase & Co’s stock as “Buy”, while 6 – as “Hold”. The median price target on the stock stands at $192.81, which translates into a 7.70% upside compared to the closing price on Friday.
The high point of the analyst forecast range stands at $238.00.
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