Sept 11 (Askume) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA.N) sold $228.7 million worth of Bank of America (BAC.N) shares as the conglomerate continued to reduce its stake in the United States’ second-largest bank.
Berkshire Hathaway disclosed late Tuesday that it sold about 5.8 million shares of Bank of America between Sept. 6 and 10.
LSEG data shows total sales since mid-July amounted to about 174.7 million shares, raising $7.19 billion.
Berkshire remains Bank of America’s largest shareholder and will have to continue reporting sales regularly until its stake falls below 10%. It is currently 11.1%.
One of the world’s most famous investors, the 94-year-old billionaire began investing in Bank of America in 2011, when Berkshire purchased $5 billion worth of preferred shares.
The stake sale comes more than a year after Buffett praised Bank of America and its CEO Brian Moynihan.
Moynihan said Tuesday that Buffett has been a “great” investor in the bank but he did not ask the veteran investor about the recent stake sale.
“I don’t know what he’s doing because obviously we can’t ask,” Moynihan told investors at a financial conference in New York.
Last week, a Deutsche Bank analyst said Berkshire might aim for just under the 10% reporting threshold to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
Bank of America shares fell 0.8% in premarket trading on Wednesday. The bank’s shares have lagged the broader market since Berkshire began its aggressive sell-off.
