Berkshire Hathaway buys back $1.2 billion of stock Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:25am EST (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) said on Wednesday that it had repurchased $1.2 billion of its own stock and raised the price at which it is willing to buy back shares. The conglomerate run by Warren Buffett, which operates a variety of companies in the insurance, energy, rail and utility sectors, said its board had authorized stock repurchases at up to 120 percent of book value, up from a previous level of 110 percent. Berkshire's book value per share as of September 30 was $111,718, indicating that it can now buy back shares at up to $134,062 apiece, up from $122,890 apiece. The company said it had bought back 9,200 Class-A shares from a long-time investor at a price of $131,000 apiece. Berkshire's shares were temporarily halted on the New York Stock Exchange ahead of the news, which indicated a more aggressive stance on buying back shares. In its most recent quarterly filing, Berkshire said it had not made any repurchases in the first nine months of 2012. Berkshire's Class A shares rose after its announcement, recently up 2.5 percent at $134,050. Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Nick Zieminski