Buffett continues to "trim" bank stocks: Berkshire Hathaway Q2 likely further reduced its $6.9 billion position in Bank of America

The Zhitong Finance APP noted that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A.US)(BRK.B.US) may continue to reduce its holdings in Bank of America (BAC.US) in the second quarter, as its latest quarterly report revealed several clues.

As of June 30, 2025, Bank of America remains one of Berkshire's top five holdings. Berkshire began to reduce its position in Bank of America in July 2024.

The report shows that the group led by Buffett sold approximately $6.9 billion worth of stocks over a three-month period, realizing $5.3 billion in pre-tax profits, while purchasing approximately $4 billion worth of stocks.

Although the 13F filing did not disclose details of individual stock trades, if Berkshire reduces its approximately 631 million shares of Bank of America held as of March 31, 2025 (currently valued at about $26.5 billion), it would align with the reported data.

It is estimated that Berkshire's cost basis for its shares is about $7 per share, as its position of over 1 billion shares mainly comes from warrants acquired ten years ago at an exercise price of $7. Data shows that the average price of Bank of America stock in the second quarter was $42, which means that Berkshire's cost basis is only 17% of the market price, consistent with the reported profit ratio.

Year-to-date, Bank of America's stock price has underperformed the market by nearly two percentage points, ranking last among large banks. The Berkshire financial report released last Saturday disappointed investors, leading to a 2.9% drop in its stock price on Monday