Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) surpassed a market cap of $1 trillion for the first time on Wednesday as it continues to sell some holdings in Bank of America (BAC). #BerkshireHathawayMarketCap
Berkshire is the first outside the tech world to reach that exclusive territory in the US, which currently includes just six other companies.
The move comes after Berkshire disclosed late Tuesday that it had trimmed its stake in the nation’s second-largest lender by another 24.6 million shares, generating $982 million.
Berkshire has sold BofA stock in five of the past six weeks starting in mid-July, unloading a total of 129 million shares and earning $5.4 billion on those sales.
Bank of America’s stock has fallen by more than 9% during Buffett’s selling spree. It is still up roughly 18% so far this year, trailing larger gains by rivals Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Citigroup (C).
BofA’s stock was up more than 1% in Wednesday morning trading.
Berkshire has not yet said anything about the motivation for selling some of its Bank of America stock. And it remains the bank’s largest stockholder, with over 900 million shares worth more than $35 billion.
The recent moves are notable because of Buffett’s long history with the bank. He injected $5 billion into Bank of America in 2011 as the lender struggled to overcome the wreckage of the subprime housing meltdown that caused the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
In addition, Warren Buffett’s decision to expand BofA stock sales has contributed to this remarkable feat. The increased liquidity from these sales has positively impacted the Berkshire Hathaway market cap. Consequently, the company’s financial strategy continues to attract attention and generate optimism among investors. #BerkshireHathawayMarketCap
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