March 18 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) has

increased its pace of repurchasing its own shares, a sign that

longtime Chairman Warren Buffett considers them undervalued and

a good place to spend excess cash.

In its proxy filing on Friday, Berkshire said it repurchased

the equivalent of 3,808 Class A shares this year through March

6, spending approximately $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion depending

on the dates of the buybacks.

Nearly three-quarters of the repurchases took place after

Feb. 12.

Berkshire repurchased $2.2 billion of its own stock in last

year's fourth quarter, and $9.2 billion in all of 2023.

Its peak year for buybacks was 2021, when they totaled $27

billion.

Buffett, 93, has run Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since

1965, and oversees buybacks and other major capital allocation

decisions.

Repurchases help Buffett deploy some of the conglomerate's

cash and equivalents, which totaled $167.6 billion at year end.

Berkshire has said it will maintain a $30 billion cash

cushion, and that "financial strength and redundant liquidity

will always be of paramount importance."

Through Friday, Berkshire's share price was up 14% this

year, about twice the gain for the Standard & Poor's 500.