Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway slashes stake in Wells Fargo
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said on Friday it had cut its Wells Fargo & Co stake to 3.3%, further reducing what had once been a $32 billion investment in the bank.
Berkshire said in a regulatory filing it owned about 137.6 million shares, worth $3.4 billion, of the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, down about 100 million from the end of June.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK.A | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 708,369.24 | +5,069.26 | +0.72% |
| BRK.B | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 473.04 | +3.46 | +0.74% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 75.10 | +1.53 | +2.08% |
Buffett began investing in Wells Fargo in 1989, but has been reducing Berkshire's stake as the bank struggles to recover from a series of scandals over its treatment of customers, including the opening of accounts without their knowledge.
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Wells Fargo's ability to grow remains subject to a Federal Reserve limit. Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday lowered its rating outlook on the bank to "negative" from "stable", citing the bank's slower-than-expected ability to resolve governance and oversight issues from previous years.
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Berkshire still owns shares of several other banks, including Bank of America Corp, which became its largest common stock holding other than iPhone-maker Apple Inc,
Buffett's conglomerate also owns dozens of operating businesses including the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer.
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