Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate helmed by Warren Buffett, has continued its divestment from Bank of America, having sold over $3.8 billion worth of the bank’s shares since mid-July.
According to a regulatory filing on Thursday, Berkshire offloaded roughly 19.2 million Bank of America shares for approximately $779 million between July 30 and August 1. Since July 17, the firm has liquidated a total of 90.4 million shares of the bank.
Despite this reduction, Berkshire Hathaway remains the largest shareholder of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, holding 942.4 million shares, which represent about 12.1% of the total shares outstanding, valued at around $37.2 billion.
Berkshire is required to continue disclosing its sales until its stake in the bank drops below 10%. The company is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on Saturday morning.
This strategic selling follows a significant appreciation in Bank of America’s stock price, which has surged by nearly 66% since late October, trading at more than 1.2 times its book value. This surge has increased the value of Berkshire’s investment to over $45 billion, a substantial gain from the $14.6 billion it originally invested.
Berkshire Hathaway’s investment in Bank of America dates back to 2011, when it purchased $5 billion in preferred stock. This move was indicative of Buffett’s confidence in Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s leadership and the bank’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.
In April 2023, Buffett, at 93, expressed his high regard for Moynihan in an interview with CNBC and indicated that he was not inclined to sell the bank’s stock at that time.
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Berkshire Hathaway’s diverse portfolio includes interests in Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad, and numerous other insurance, energy, industrial, and retail enterprises.
