Huge bank sold Comcast, Barrick and Berkshire Hathaway shares

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Germany’s second-largest lender has made big changes to its investments in US-listed stocks.

Commerzbank

extended positions

Comcast

(ticker: CMCSA),

Barrick Gold

(OR) and class B

Berkshire Hathaway

(

BRKb

) stock in the third quarter. The banking giant has also initiated an investment in

Abbott Laboratories.

It disclosed stock transactions, among other things, in a form filed by Commerzbank with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Commerzbank, which had total assets of $ 651 billion at the end of the second quarter, declined to comment on stock transactions.

The bank held 1.8 million shares of cable and media company Comcast at the end of the second quarter and sold them all in the third.

Comcast stock is down 6.1% year-to-date through Friday’s close, including an 8.7% drop in October. By comparison, the

S&P 500 Index,

a broad measure of the market, has gained 1.2% year-to-date, including a 2.7% drop in October.

Billionaire activist Nelson Peltz revealed in September that he had a significant stake in Comcast. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said at a recent Goldman Sachs event that the company will benefit from convergence. “Big tech companies are getting into the media, while [traditional] Media companies use streaming to deliver their content… Broadband is the catalyst and the best thing about Comcast is we’re here, ”said Roberts. Comcast on Thursday announced strong third quarter results.

Commerzbank sold 200,000 Barrick shares in the third quarter, ending September with none.

Gold miner Barrick has seen stocks climb 44% so far this year, after falling 5% in October. Second quarter earnings, released in August, were strong. Barrick also announced a dividend increase that month. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway opened a position in Barrick earlier this year.

Speaking of Berkshire Hathaway, Commerzbank had only a relatively small investment in Buffett’s investment firm, but sold all 4,035 Class B shares it held in the third quarter.

Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock have fallen 11% so far this year, after sliding 5.2% in October.

We believe that with Buffett turning 90, the Berkshire Hathaway estate seems more important than ever. In September, Buffett bet billions of dollars on Japanese trading companies. Berkshire Hathaway is also a large shareholder in the recently public cloud company Snowflake (SNOW).

Commerzbank bought 230,732 Abbott shares in the third quarter, a new investment.

Abbott stock is posting a gain of 21% so far this year, including a 3.4% drop for the health giant in October.

The federal government announced an agreement in August to buy back the vast majority of Abbott’s new Covid-19 rapid test that will be available this year. Abbott’s third-quarter earnings, released in October, were strong and the company raised its guidance.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron article that covers the stock trading of corporate executives and board members – called insiders – as well as major shareholders, politicians and other important figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock transactions to the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups..

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.