Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sells Bank of America shares worth $6.97 billion since July; trims stake to near 11%

Warren Buffett continued selling Bank of America Corp. shares in September, bringing total proceeds to $6.97 billion since the offloading began in mid-July, Bloomberg News reported.

According to a regulatory filing on Thursday, Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., sold an additional $760 million worth of Bank of America shares since Tuesday. Despite the sales, Berkshire Hathaway remains the largest shareholder of Bank of America, holding about an 11% stake valued at $34.7 billion, based on the latest closing price.

On Thursday, Bank of America share price ended 0.89% lower at $40.14 apiece.

Buffett began building Berkshire’s position in Bank of America in 2011 with a $5 billion investment in preferred stock and warrants. If Berkshire continues to sell, its ownership in the second-largest US bank could soon fall below the 10% regulatory threshold, which currently requires Buffett to disclose transactions within a few days, the Bloomberg News report said.

Once the stake drops below that threshold, Buffett could delay reporting sales, typically providing updates after each quarter.

While he has consistently praised the bank’s leadership and increased the stake over the years, he has not publicly explained his recent decision to reduce the holding.

Buffet Trims Apple Stake

It was recently reported that Buffett is strategically trimming down his positions in certain stocks, possibly in response to changing market conditions or valuations that no longer align with his investment principles.

In the quarter ended June 2024, Berkshire Hathaway sold a substantial portion of its top holdings, including a long-time stake in Apple. The company has been steadily trimming down its top holdings since October 2022, but the pace of selling was accelerated in 2024.

According to its latest US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, as per several reports, Buffett’s company sold over 389 million Apple shares in the second quarter alone, representing 50% of its holdings in the iPhone maker.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)