Berkshire Hathaway sells Bank of America shares
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sold approximately 34 million shares of Bank of America for $1.48 billion, as revealed in a public filing on Friday (Jul 19).
Despite this sale, Berkshire still holds over 998 million shares, valued at more than $42 billion, making it one of the bank’s largest shareholders according to Bloomberg data. Bank of America’s stock has increased by 7.9 percent so far this month.
Buffett’s initial investment in the bank was $5 billion in 2011, in exchange for preferred stock and the right to buy common shares. This move was a crucial signal of confidence in the lender following the financial crisis. The cash infusion helped dispel concerns about the bank’s capital adequacy, leading to a significant rise in its stock and resulting in a substantial paper profit for Berkshire.
Over time, Buffett used these rights and made additional share purchases to build a stake that became one of Berkshire’s largest stock holdings. This long-term investment has also been seen as a strong vote of confidence in the leadership of the bank’s CEO, Brian Moynihan.
