Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK BRK has continued to sell off its holdings in Bank of America Corp. BAC, with the total sales now exceeding $3.8 billion over the past two weeks.
What Happened: Berkshire Hathaway, led by the legendary investor Buffett, has offloaded more than $3.8 billion worth of Bank of America shares since mid-July, reported Reuters, citing a regulatory filing on Thursday. The company sold approximately 19.2 million shares for about $779 million between Jul. 30 and Aug. 1.
The conglomerate remains the largest shareholder of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, holding 942.4 million shares, which is about 12.1% of the shares outstanding, valued at around $37.2 billion.
Berkshire is required to continue reporting sales until its stake falls below 10%. The company is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Saturday morning.
The sales began after Bank of America’s stock price had risen by about two-thirds since late October and traded at more than 1.2 times book value. This boosted the value of Berkshire’s shares to over $45 billion, more than triple the $14.6 billion it paid for them.
Berkshire has been investing in Bank of America since 2011 when it purchased $5 billion of preferred stock, signaling Buffett’s confidence in Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan‘s ability to restore the bank to health following the 2008 financial crisis.
Why It Matters: The recent sales are part of a broader trend of Berkshire Hathaway trimming its position in Bank of America. Earlier in July, Berkshire sold approximately 33.9 million Bank of America shares, worth around $1.48 billion, as disclosed in a regulatory filing with the SEC.
By the end of July, Berkshire had further reduced its stake by selling an additional 18.42 million shares valued at about $767 million. This brought Berkshire’s holdings to 961.65 million shares, reducing its ownership to 12.49%.
Warren Buffett’s investment strategy often involves buying and holding winning stocks for the long term. However, the recent sales indicate a strategic move to capitalize on the significant appreciation in Bank of America’s stock price.
Buffett has often emphasized the importance of choosing the right heroes and role models in his investment journey. His admiration for figures like Benjamin Graham has shaped his investment philosophy, which continues to influence his decisions today.
Read Next:
Image Via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
