Berkshire Hathaway Sells More Bank of America Shares

(Reuters) – Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) has sold additional shares of Bank of America, earning $981.9 million as it reduces its stake in the second-largest U.S. lender.

Berkshire has now divested approximately $5.4 billion worth of Bank of America shares since mid-July.

The conglomerate sold about 24.7 million shares of the lender between August 23 and August 27, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Shares of Bank of America were down 0.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday and have fallen 4.8% over the last month, compared to a 1.7% decline in the KBW Bank Index.

Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most respected investors, began investing in Bank of America in 2011, when Berkshire acquired $5 billion of preferred stock. His investment came during a period of concerns about the bank’s capital needs.

These recent stake sales contrast with last year when Buffett praised Bank of America and its CEO, Brian Moynihan. In April 2023, Buffett stated, “I like Brian Moynihan enormously. I don’t wanna sell it.”

After the latest sale, Berkshire remains the bank’s largest shareholder, owning 903.8 million shares valued at $35.85 billion based on the closing price on Tuesday.