Warren Buffett Cuts Stake in Moody's By Almost 17%

Published: Wednesday, 22 Jul 2009 5:54 PM ET - CNBC.COMhttp://www.cnbc. com/id/32090379

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has cut its stake in Moody's by 16.6 percent, reducing its exposure to the beleaguered credit rating agency by selling almost eight million shares over three days.

In a filing with the SEC late today (Wednesday), Berkshire says it held 40,013,700 shares as of July 21. That's 16.98 percent of Moody's shares outstanding.

Berkshire reported holding 48 million shares as of March 31. That would be a stake of just over 20 percent.

Moody's shares fell sharply in after-hours trading on the news. They closed today at $26.52 and were trading at $24.35 just after 6p ET.

Current price: [MCO 26.52 -0.28 (-1.04%) Berkshire's National Indemnity sold the shares on the open market over a three-day period starting Monday. The selling prices ranged from $28.73 to $26.64, with an average of $27.25. The sales raised $217.6 million for Berkshire.