Warren Buffett takes the stage before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogen | David A. Grogen CNBC
Berkshire Hathaway sells on streak among its big companies Bank of America The holding period has been extended to nine consecutive days, indicating that Warren Buffett is not just reducing his long-term holdings.
The Omaha-based conglomerate sold a total of 18.4 million shares of the bank from Thursday to Monday for $767 million, an average price of $41.65, a new high. Supervision filing Revealed Monday night. Over the past nine trading days, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings by 71.2 million shares, with sales of just over $3 billion.
After the selling frenzy, Berkshire still holds 961.6 million shares of Bank of America, with a market value of $39.5 billion. Bank of America remains Berkshire Hathaway’s second-largest holding after Apple, but if the group continues to sell off the shares, the bank could slip below third place. American Expresscurrently valued at $37.6 billion.
Bank of America
Berkshire Hathaway remains the largest shareholder of Bank of America, holding 12.3% of the shares. As an owner of more than 10% of the shares, Berkshire has two business days to report any trades, so we won’t know until Thursday whether Tuesday’s sell-off will continue.
Buffett Famous bought Bank of America issued $5 billion worth of preferred stock and warrants after the 2011 financial crisis, bolstering confidence in the bank that was reeling from subprime-related losses. He converted those warrants in 2017, making Berkshire the largest shareholder in Bank of America and vowed it would be “a long time” before he sold.
As disclosed at the end of 2021, Berkshire’s cost basis for its Bank of America position was approximately $14.15 per share, or $14.6 billion. Bank of America closed at $41.09 on Monday.
Following a strong performance from Bank of America, the group may be taking profits and ultimately have a banner year this year. The bank’s stock is up 22% in 2024, outperforming the S&P 500’s 14.5% return.
Berkshire is set to release second-quarter earnings on Saturday morning, which will also reveal more information about the conglomerate’s largest holdings.
