Barrons News Said Was Berkshire Hathaway Buying BAC Stock?

Barrons News says the one big holding that Berkshire Hathaway (tickers: BRK. A, BRK. B) CEO Warren Buffett has left alone is Bank of America BAC –1.08% (BAC). Berkshire owns just over one billion shares of the bank, which were worth about $28 billion with the stock down 2.7% to $27.98 on Wednesday. Berkshire’s Class A stock was off 2.9% at $448,500.

It will be interesting to see if Buffett has been tempted to buy more Bank of America stock, given that the shares have been hit recently, along with the rest of the industry. Bank of America stock is off 14% in the past week and has fallen 31% over the past year, the worst showing among the top six banks.

If Buffett was a buyer Monday, when Bank of America fell below $30 for the first time since 2020, Berkshire would need to make a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission later Wednesday because it holds more than 10% of Bank of America stock. Berkshire owns about 12.5% of the shares.

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Holders of at least 10% of a company must file for changes in their holdings within two business days. Berkshire didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

A Berkshire purchase, which would be its first buy of Bank of America since 2020, likely would bolster the bank’s shares because it would signal confidence in Buffett said Barrons News. Such a buy also could lift bank stocks generally. Berkshire’s most recent purchases of Bank of America came at around $25 a share in August 2020.

Investors generally can buy no more than 10% of a bank’s shares but Berkshire got regulatory approval in 2020 to lift its stake in Bank of America to just under 25%.

Buffett has been a big fan of Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Even with the sharp drop in Bank of America stock, Berkshire is still in the black on its holding of 1.03 billion shares, having paid an average of $14 each.