Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trims BofA stake

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced its third sale of Bank of America Corp. (BofA) shares this month, reducing its stake by over $3 billion.

The conglomerate sold $767 million worth of shares from July 25 to July 29, reducing its stake by 6.9 per cent, according to a Monday regulatory filing. Despite these sales, Berkshire still holds nearly 962 million shares, valued at $39.5 billion based on Monday’s closing price.

These sales represent Buffett’s largest reduction in an investment that has long shown confidence in Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Buffett initially invested $5 billion in the bank during the 2008 financial crisis, boosting the stock and creating significant paper profits.

Berkshire continued investing over the decade, eventually holding over 10 per cent  of the bank. Last year, Buffett praised Moynihan, stating, “I like Brian Moynihan enormously. I just don’t want to sell it.”

Attribution: Bloomberg