In a recent series of Bank of America stock sales, Warren Buffett, the renowned investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO, has divested millions more of BAC shares through his company. The latest transaction amounts to nearly 22 million shares, valued at around $863 million, occurring between September 20 and September 24. This brings the total sum of Bank of America shares offloaded by Berkshire Hathaway to $9 billion, based on data from TipRanks as of September 25.
Moreover, in past actions, Buffett’s company sold 22.3 million BAC shares netting $896 million around seven days prior, following a previous sale of approximately 5.8 million shares worth $228.65 million between September 6 and September 10. Notably, Berkshire Hathaway, Bank of America’s largest shareholder, commenced its selling streak of BAC stock back in mid-July this year. These divestments have amounted to a substantial $9 billion across multiple trading sessions, with the most recent reduction decreasing the company’s stake in Bank of America to 10.5%.
As for Buffett’s motivations behind the sales, there has been no explicit statement from the investor himself. However, according to Haruki Toyama, portfolio manager at Madison Investments, the divestments do not necessarily signal a bearish market outlook on Buffett’s part. Despite speculation, the investor has not provided any recent commentary on stock valuation extremes. Meanwhile, Bank of America’s CEO Brian Moynihan has acknowledged Buffett’s moves while expressing uncertainty regarding the specific reasons driving the reductions in exposure.
In terms of Bank of America’s stock performance, its price currently stands at $39.13 per share, indicating a slight decline of 0.24% for the day and a 3.53% drop over the past week. Additionally, the stock has decreased by 1.97% over the month, bringing its year-to-date growth down to 15.25%.
Overall, Buffett’s significant divestment in BAC stock aligns with his trend of reducing exposure to the U.S. banking sector. Prior to Bank of America, he had exited positions in various other major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, and Bank of New York Mellon.