Wesco Sells Part of Travelers Stake

Wesco Financial Corp., which is 80% owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., sold part of its stake in Travelers Inc. in recent months. The Pasadena-based insurer’s second-quarter report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week shows that the company cut its securities holdings by $96.7 million, based on what Wesco originally paid for the shares. The company reported unchanged holdings of Freddie Mac, Coca-Cola Co. and Gillette Co. That implies Wesco cut its holdings of other stocks it reported owning three months earlier, which included Travelers, American Express Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and US Airways Group Inc. At least some of the Travelers stake must have been sold, because Wesco reported in March that it held $90.8 million of the company’s shares, based on the cost when acquired. A Wesco spokesman declined to comment. Wesco shares fell $3 to close at $340 on the American Stock Exchange.