由于持股比例低于10%的关键门槛，伯克希尔不再需要及时报告相关交易。美国SEC要求持有一家公司10%以上股权的股东，需在两个工作日内报告涉及该公司股权的交易。According to SEC filings, over the past three days, Berkshire Hathaway has sold a total of over 9.5 million shares of Bank of America stocks, worth $0.3824 billion; This move has reduced the company's stake in Bank of America to 0.775 billion shares, representing approximately 9.987% ownership; Warren Buffett's selling of Bank of America shares may not be over yet.
Caixin Media on October 11th (Editor Bian Chun) reported that since mid-July, Warren Buffett, known as the 'Oracle of Omaha', has been gradually selling stocks of the second largest bank in the United States, Bank of America. After the latest selling action on Thursday, Berkshire Hathaway's ownership stake in Bank of America has dropped to below 10%.
Filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday evening show that over the past three days (Tuesday to Thursday), Berkshire Hathaway has sold a total of over 9.5 million shares of Bank of America stocks, worth $0.3824 billion. This move has reduced the company's stake in Bank of America to 0.775 billion shares, representing approximately 9.987% ownership.
Due to the ownership stake falling below the crucial 10% threshold, Berkshire Hathaway no longer needs to promptly report related transactions. The U.S. SEC requires shareholders holding over 10% equity in a company to report transactions involving the company's equity within two working days.
Now, Bank of America investors may have to wait for Berkshire Hathaway's quarterly financial reports or Form 13F filings to find out if the company has sold more Bank of America stocks. The next 13F filing due in mid-November will only disclose Berkshire Hathaway's equity ownership as of the end of September.
Warren Buffett's selling of Bank of America shares may not be over yet. Following Buffett's usual practice, when he starts selling a stock, he eventually clears out his entire position in that stock.
Berkshire Hathaway is currently still the largest institutional investor in Bank of America.
On Thursday, Bank of America's stock fell slightly by 0.52%, closing at $39.97. Since Berkshire Hathaway began selling in July, Bank of America's stock price has fallen by about 10%, but the stock has slightly increased by about 1% in the past month. Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, previously mentioned that the market is absorbing these shares thanks to the bank's own buyback program.
In 2011, Buffett purchased $5 billion worth of Bank of America preferred stock and warrants to boost investor confidence in the troubled bank after the subprime crisis. In 2017, he converted the warrants into common stock, making Berkshire Hathaway the bank's largest shareholder. Subsequently, Buffett increased his holdings of Bank of America stocks by 0.3 billion shares in 2018 and 2019.
Be cautious when investing in bank stocks.
Before recently selling Bank of America stocks, Buffett had been selling various long-held bank stocks, including JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo & Co, and U.S. Bancorp over the past few years.
During the regional banking crisis in the United States last year, Buffett expressed pessimism.
"You don't really know what changes have occurred in the stickiness of deposits," Buffett said. "2008 changed it. This event also changed it. Everything has changed. In this situation, we are very cautious about owning banks."
Buffett believes that the bank failures during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2023 weakened people's confidence in the financial system. Additionally, poor communication from regulatory agencies and politicians made the situation worse. Meanwhile, digitization and fintech have made bank runs during crises easier.
