Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to below 10% amid a selling spree that started in mid-July.
In a Thursday night filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett disclosed the sale of more than 9.5 million shares, split between three transactions made from Tuesday to Thursday. The move brings his holdings down to 775 million shares, or a stake of about 9.987%.
Since the holding is now under the key 10% threshold, Berkshire (NYSE:BRK.A) is no longer required to report its related transactions in a timely manner. The SEC requires shareholders who own more than 10% of a company’s equity securities to report transactions involving that company’s equity within two business days.
Buffett watchers won’t find out the Oracle of Omaha’s next moves for a while. The next 13F filing in mid-November will only reveal Berkshire’s equity holdings as of the end of September. Berkshire remains BofA’s biggest institutional investor.
Shares of the bank have inched up about 1% in the past month despite Berkshire’s selling. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan previously said the market is absorbing the stock, aided by the bank’s own repurchasing.
Buffett famously bought $5 billion of Bank of America preferred stock and warrants in 2011 to shore up confidence in the embattled lender in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.
BAC, for its part, climbed $1.93, or 4.8%, soon after the open to $41.89.
