Warren Buffett hikes Bank of America stake by more than $800 million

Warren Buffett this week added to his already massive stake in Bank of America at a time when the coronavirus pandemic still clouds the U.S. and global economic outlook.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, bought 33.9 million shares of the banking giant between Monday and Wednesday. That increased Berkshire’s stake in Bank of America by $813.3 million to more than $24 billion.

Bank of America shares rose nearly 1%, bucking the broader market’s negative trend Thursday and outperforming other major banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Berkshire also has stakes in JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

In May, Buffett struck an optimistic tone at Berkshire’s annual shareholder’s meeting, which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Nothing can basically stop America,” Buffett told shareholders. “The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed and it will do so again.”

However, the Oracle of Omaha also revealed he sold out of his airline holdings due to the uncertainty caused by the outbreak.

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