Berkshire introduced the Class B shares in the 1990s to make the stock more affordable to smaller investors. However, with the advent of fractional shares, investors can now purchase as little as they want of the Class A stock, making it accessible for all.
You can buy Berkshire Hathaway stock through a brokerage account. You'll need to add money to the account and then search within the brokerage's platform using the symbol "BRK. B." You cannot buy Berkshire Hathaway stock directly from Berkshire Hathaway the company.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK. A -2.20%) (BRK. B -2.03%) is often considered a reliable stock for conservative long-term investors. The conglomerate is led by Warren Buffett, who famously said his favorite holding period for a stock is "forever."
Despite being a large, mature, and stable company, Berkshire Hathaway does not pay dividends to its investors. Instead, the company chooses to reinvest retained earnings into new projects, investments, and acquisitions.
NYSE: BRK.
Berkshire Hathaway differs from other investment firms, like hedge funds. Anyone can invest in Berkshire Hathaway if they have enough money to buy at least one Class B share (more than $450 in late 2024).
Return on investment, or ROI, is a profitability ratio used to measure the profits, amount, or rate of return generated by an investment. Whenever the return on investment is positive and in the normal range of 5 to 7%, it is considered to be a good return. If the ROI exceeds 10%, it is considered a strong return.
Ten Year Stock Price Total Return for Berkshire Hathaway is calculated as follows: Last Close Price [ 451.84 ] / Adj Prior Close Price [ 149.47 ] (-) 1 (=) Total Return [ 202.3% ] Prior price dividend adjustment factor is 1.00.
Berkshire Hathaway (23%)
As of the end of the third quarter, the Gates Foundation trust fund held about 22 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Those shares are worth about $10 billion as of this writing.
Better performance track record
More importantly, though, Berkshire has handily beaten the S&P 500 over the long term. Between 1965 (when Buffett gained control of the company) and 2023, Berkshire's compounded average annual return was 19.8% compared to only 10.2% for the S&P 500.
Why Is Berkshire Hathaway Stock So Expensive? Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet decided against a stock split, which is why the company's shares are so expensive. He felt that this would bring value to the company by preventing high-frequency trading, thereby reducing short-term volatility in the stock.
The Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway command the top position, with an impressive stock price of over half a million dollars. Swiss chocolatier Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG holds steady in second place with its six-figure stock price of CHF 123,433.
Class B shareholder has 1/10,000th of the voting rights of a Class A shareholder since each Class A share represents a larger piece of the Berkshire Hathaway pie (there are only 709,840 outstanding Class A shares, compared to 1.39B Class B shares).
$3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year. $36,000 / 6% dividend yield = $600,000. On the other hand, if you're more risk-averse and prefer a portfolio yielding 2%, you'd need to invest $1.8 million to reach the $3,000 per month target: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.
A good return on investment is generally considered to be around 7% per year, based on the average historic return of the S&P 500 index, adjusted for inflation. The average return of the U.S. stock market is around 10% per year, adjusted for inflation, dating back to the late 1920s.
Warren Buffett has argued that an investor could be diverse with just 3 stocks in a portfolio. Of course, this is only if you have a strong handle on the companies and know exactly how they are performing, and expected to perform.
A (Berkshire Hathaway) Cash per Share : $25,863.06 (As of Sep. 2024)
Although there's no telling where BRK. B shares could be 20, 30 or 40 years from now, it's possible to get a rough idea of the 10-year horizon. By some forecasts, shares of Berkshire could trade as high as $900 by 2034.
Currently, Berkshire pays a 21% federal tax rate on its earnings from investments like Apple stock. At one point, the corporate tax rate was 52%.
Although he is a world-renowned investor and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the long-time businessman makes a modest $100,000 a year and hasn't had a raise in more than 35 years, according to a recent company proxy statement.