text size
Berkshire Hathaway owns approximately $28 billion of Bank of America shares.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Berkshire Hathaway
The bank has been a steady seller of shares over the years, liquidating holdings in
JPMorgan Chase
,
Wells Fargo
,
And
goldman sachs group
While rapidly reducing stake in US Bancorp and Bank of New York Mellon in 2022.
The one big holding left alone by Berkshire Hathaway (ticker: BRK.A, BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett is
Bank of America
(BAC). Berkshire owns just over a billion shares of the bank, worth about $28 billion, after the stock fell 2.7% to $27.98 on Wednesday. Berkshire’s Class A stock was down 2.9% at $448,500.
It’ll be interesting to see if Buffett is lured into buying more Bank of America stock, given the hit the shares have taken recently along with the rest of the industry. Bank of America stock is down 14% in the past week and 31% over the past year, the worst performer among the top six banks.
If Buffett was a buyer on Monday, when Bank of America fell below $30 for the first time since 2020, Berkshire would be required to make a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission later Wednesday because it will sell Bank of America. holds more than 10% of the stock. , Berkshire owns about 12.5% of the shares.
Holders of at least 10% in a company have to file for change in their holding within two business days. Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Berkshire purchase, which would be Bank of America’s first since 2020, would likely strengthen the bank’s shares because it would be a sign of confidence by Buffett. Such purchases can generally lift bank stocks. Berkshire’s most recent purchase of Bank of America occurred in August 2020 at about $25 per share.
Investors normally cannot buy more than 10% of the bank’s shares, but Berkshire received regulatory approval to reduce its stake in Bank of America to less than 25% in 2020.
Buffett has been a big fan of Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Even with the sharp drop in Bank of America stock, Berkshire is still in the black on holding 1.03 billion shares, each paid an average of $14.
Write to Andrew Barry at [email protected]