Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) has offloaded approximately 33.9 million shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), equivalent to around $1.48 billion, as per a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC.)
What Happened: The transactions were executed this week, bringing down Berkshire Hathaway's ownership to about 999 million BofA shares. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank lists Berkshire as one of its biggest shareholders.
Berkshire, under the leadership of Buffett, holds a diverse portfolio of bank investments, encompassing stakes in Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).
The conglomerate first invested in Bank of America in 2011, purchasing $5 billion of preferred stock and warrants to buy 700 million common shares, at a time when many investors were apprehensive about the bank's capital requirements.
Why It Matters: This move is in line with Berkshire's recent trend of trimming its holdings in various companies. In Q1 2024, Berkshire reduced its stakes in five major companies, including a significant sale of over 116 million shares of Apple Inc.
In June, Berkshire further reduced its stake in China-based electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd., fetching proceeds of HK$ 310.5 million ($39.8 million). This was part of a series of small quantity offloads of BYD shares over the years.
Price Action: Bank of America Corp.'s shares closed 0.26% lower at $42.90 on Friday. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Class A shares fell 1.63% to $652,040, while Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Class B shares closed 1.66% lower at $434.47, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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