Warren Buffett's Valentine's surprise for investors

Warren Buffett had a Valentine’s Day surprise for investors in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

A regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, known as a 13F, showed that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc took a stake in the generic drugmaker in the fourth quarter of 2017. The news pushed Teva shares up more than 10 per cent on 14 February.

Hedge funds are notably hush hush about their portfolio holdings. Quarterly disclosures offer a look at what influential money managers are buying and selling.

The 13F filings are published on the SEC’s website 45 days after the end of each quarter. Once they land, the Reuters stocks team in Bangalore pulls the data into an excel spreadsheet. Working with our investments team in New York, they look for quarterly changes in stock holdings as well as new positions.