The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure documents show that Ajit Jain (Ajit Jain), Warren Buffett (Ajit Jain)'s deputy, who is in charge of the insurance business and vice chairman of the company, sold more than half of his shares in Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A.US). The 73-year-old “veteran” sold 200 Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares at an average price of $695,418 per share on Monday, totaling around $0.139 billion.

After this sell-off, Jain will hold only 61 shares, while the family trust fund he and his spouse set up for future generations will hold 55 shares, and his non-profit company Jain Foundation will hold 50 shares. The shares sold on Monday made up 55% of his total shares in Berkshire Hathaway.

The move marked Jahn's biggest sell-off since joining Berkshire in 1986. The exact reason behind this move is unclear, but it must be said that it did take advantage of Berkshire's recent high prices. By the end of August, the group's stock price was over 0.7 million US dollars, and the market capitalization reached 1 trillion US dollars.

David Kass (David Kass), a finance professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business (University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business), commented, “This seems to be a sign that Agit believes Berkshire's valuation is adequate.”

This is also consistent with the recent significant slowdown in Berkshire's share repurchase activity. Berkshire, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, bought back just $0.345 billion worth of shares in the second quarter, far less than the $2 billion repurchase volume in the previous two quarters.

Bill Stone (Bill Stone), a Berkshire shareholder and chief investment officer of Glenview Trust Co., said, “I think this is at best a sign that the stock price is not cheap. More than 1.6 times the book value is probably close to Buffett's conservative estimate of intrinsic value. I don't expect Berkshire to buy back many shares at this level, if any.”

This veteran investor, who has been in charge for 40 years, has played a critical role in Berkshire's unparalleled success. Jain not only promoted the company's entry into the reinsurance industry, but recently led Geico, the company's most important auto insurance business, to turn losses into profits. In 2018, Jahn was appointed Vice Chairman of the Insurance Business and was appointed as a member of the Berkshire Board of Directors.

Buffett also praised him, writing in his 2017 annual letter: “Agit has created tens of billions of dollars in value for Berkshire shareholders. If there's another Ajit, you can trade him with me, don't hesitate. Make this deal!”

Before it was officially announced that Greg Abel (Greg Abel), vice chairman of Berkshire's non-insurance business, would eventually take over 94-year-old Buffett, there were rumors that Jahn was expected to take over as leader of Berkshire. Buffett clarified that Jahn “never thought of being in charge of Berkshire” and that there was no competition between the two.