(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
As of the end of the second quarter, Warren Buffett still appears to be confident in Kraft Heinz, but not so 3G Capital, which partnered with Berkshire Hathaway in 2015 to merge Heinz with Kraft.
3G sold 20.6 million shares of its stake in Kraft Heinz on Tuesday, August 7, at $59.85 per share
3G still owns 270.1 million shares, second only to Berkshire Hathaway’s
325,634,818 shares.
Down from Kraft Heinz’s 52-wk high of $85.16, the stock has recently been in the doldrums, trading just below $60.
3G’s 7% reduction in its Kraft Heinz stake comes as consumers have become increasingly indifferent to many of the brands that were popular over the last fifty years.
In April, at the 2018 Milken Institute Global Conference, 3G’s Jorge Paulo Lemann said, “I’m a terrified dinosaur,” when referring to the disruption for legacy brands that comes from changing consumer tastes.
Kraft Heinz has been trying to add new products to its familiar brands that include Classico, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Ore-Ida, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Plasmon, Quero, Smart Ones and Velveeta.
In May 2018, the company announced that its new Springboard Incubator Program would launch five disruptive brands that included antioxidant lemonades, avocado-based sauces, egg-white chips, fermented kraut, and South-African biltong & droëwors.
© 2018 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.