Warren Buffett sold all Goldman Sachs shares last quarter as Berkshire Hathaway cuts holding in banks

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet reduced his stake in leading financial institutions of the United States in the April-June quarter, selling shares that could add up to billions of dollars. In a filing to the United States market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares of JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and even Wells Fargo. Banks in the US too have had to face the heat amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, increasing provisions to help them dodge any headwinds in the near future. Making higher provisions, experts say, hits lenders ability process advances, hence bringing down interest income.

According to the filing, the Oracle of Omaha, as Warren Buffett is often called closed his position in Goldman Sachs completely. At the end of the previous quarter Berkshire Hathaway owned close to 2 million shares of the investment banking company. Along with this Wells Fargo was also at the receiving end of Buffets axe as he cut his holdings in the bank by selling 85.6 million stocks. JPMorgan shares were also sold by Warren Buffett from over 57 million shares in the previous quarter to just 22.2 million shares at the end of June, bringing down his stake 61%. On the other hand Warren Buffet held Bank of America and American Express shares. 

Visa, MasterCard, Bank of New York, and PNC Financial were some of the other financial stocks that the billionaire investors trimmed his stake in. As on June 30 this year, Berkshire Hathaway’s investment fair value in banking, insurance, and finance shares stood at $59,245 million, down from $102,395 million at the end of December 2019. Meanwhile holding fair value in consumer products has increased to $102,395 million, up from $99,634 million at the end of December last year.

Berkshire Hathaway shares have lagged behind the broader markets so far this year. Since March lows Berkshire Hathaway stocks have gained 31% so fat while the NYSE has gained 46% and the S&P 500 has surged over 50%. Recently, Buffett’s call to sell aviation stocks too was called into question after some of the leading US airline stocks surged after he sold his stake in them.