Berkshire Hathaway 1998 Annual Report Download - page 73

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72
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
COMMON STOCK
General
The Company has two classes of common stock designated Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock.
Each share of Class A Common Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, into 30 shares of Class B Common Stock.
Shares of Class B Common Stock are not convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock.
Stock Transfer Agent
BankBoston, N.A. /o Boston EquiServe, P.O. Box 8040, Boston, MA 02266-8040 serves as Transfer Agent and
c
Registrar for the Company's common stock. Correspondence may be directed to Investor Relations, Mail Stop 45-02-64.
Certificates for re-issue or transfer should be directed to the Transfer Processing Section, Mail Stop 45-01-05. Notices for
conversion and underlying stock certificates should be directed to Corporate Reorganization, Mail Stop 45-02-53. Phone
inquiries should be directed to Investor Relations — (781) 575-3100.
Shareholders of record wishing to convert Class A Common Stock into Class B Common Stock should contact
BankBoston to obtain a "form of conversion notice" and instructions for converting their shares. Shareholders may call
BankBoston between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time to request a "form of conversion notice."
Alternatively, shareholders may notify BankBoston in writing. Along with the underlying stock certificate,
shareholders should provide BankBoston with specific written instructions regarding the number of shares to be converted
and the manner in which the Class B shares are to be registered. We recommend that you use certified or registered mail
when delivering the stock certificates and written instructions.
If Class A shares are held in "street name", shareholders wishing to convert all or a portion of their holding should
contact their broker or bank nominee. It will be necessary for the nominee to make the request for conversion.
Shareholders
The Company had approximately 9,300 record holders of its Class A Common Stock and13,400 record holders of
its Class B Common Stock at March 5, 1999. Record owners included nominees holding at least 385,000 shares of
Class A Common Stock and 4,850,000 shares of Class B Common Stock on behalf of beneficial-but-not-of-record owners.
Price Range of Common Stock
The Company's Class A and Class B Common Stock are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange, trading
symbol: BRK.A and BRK.B. The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices per share, as reported on the New
York Stock Exchange Composite List during the periods indicated:
1998 1997
Class A Class B Class A Class B
High Low High Low High Low High Low
First Quarter ........ $69,500 $45,700 $2,324 $1,526 $37,900 $33,000 $1,264 $1,088
Second Quarter ...... 84,000 65,800 2,795 2,184 48,600 35,900 1,624 1,197
Third Quarter ....... 78,500 57,000 2,622 1,893 48,300 41,300 1,608 1,377
Fourth Quarter ...... 71,000 57,700 2,396 1,916 47,200 42,500 1,565 1,400
Dividends
Berkshire has not declared a cash dividend since 1967.