Billionaire Warren Buffett Sold 41% of Berkshire's Stake in Bank of America and Is Piling Into a Famed Consumer Brand That's Soared 7,200% Since Its IPO

Key Points

• Form 13Fs allow investors to see which stocks Wall Street's leading money managers have been buying and selling.

• Warren Buffett continues to sell Berkshire Hathaway's No. 3 holding -- and there may be more to this selling activity than meets the eye.

• Meanwhile, Berkshire's billionaire boss added to shares of a consumer favorite for a fourth consecutive quarter.

• 10 stocks we like better than Domino's Pizza ›

Few data releases are more exciting or valuable for the investing community than the quarterly filing of Form 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A 13F is a required filing no later than 45 calendar days following the end to a quarter by institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management. In simple terms, it allows investors to look over the shoulders of Wall Street's brightest money managers to see what they've been buying and selling.

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No asset manager's trading activity is more closely followed than that of Warren Buffett. Since taking the reins as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) six decades ago, the Oracle of Omaha has witnessed his company's Class A shares (BRK.A) lap the benchmark S&P 500 index in the total return column, including dividends, 134 times! In other words, mirroring Buffett's trading activity has been a pathway to long-term riches.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.

Based on Berkshire Hathaway's newly filed 13F for the June-ended quarter, Buffett was a busy bee. He continued to be a seller of No. 3 holding Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), but also added to a brand-name, consumer-facing company that's soared more than 7,200% since its initial public offering (IPO) 21 years ago.

Warren Buffett has been a persistent seller of BofA stock since July 2024

Though we often think of Warren Buffett as a buy-and-hold investor of phenomenal businesses, he's been nothing short of a persistent seller of stocks, on a net basis, for almost three years. In each of the last 11 quarters (Oct. 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025), Buffett has sold more stocks than he's purchased, to the cumulative tune of $177.4 billion.

One of the largest contributing stocks to this $177.4 billion figure is Bank of America, which is commonly known as "BofA." Since July 17, 2024, Buffett has overseen the sale of 427,584,631 shares of BofA stock, equating to a 41% aggregate reduction. During the June-ended quarter, roughly 26.3 million shares were sent to the chopping block.

The simplest explanation for this continued selling activity is that Berkshire's billionaire chief is locking in gains at a tax-advantaged rate.

During Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in May 2024, Buffett opined that selling shares of Apple, his company's top holding, made sense given that the peak marginal corporate income tax rate was at a multidecade low. Although Buffett didn't make any mention of Bank of America during his corporate income tax discussion, Apple and BofA account for a significant chunk of Berkshire's unrealized gains. Cashing in his chips at an advantageous tax rate should, in hindsight, be viewed as a positive by Berkshire's shareholders.

The worry is there may be more to this selling activity than meets the eye.

There's not a sector of the market the Oracle of Omaha understands better than financials. Buffett's ongoing selling activity in BofA may signal concern about a potential decline in the company's net interest income in future quarters.

No U.S. money-center bank is more sensitive to changes in interest rates than Bank of America. When the nation's central bank lifted the federal funds rate at its quickest pace in decades between March 2022 and July 2023, it sent BofA's net interest income skyrocketing higher. But with the Federal Reserve now in a drawn-out rate-easing cycle, Bank of America's net interest income may take a bigger hit than its peers'.

Warren Buffett is also an unwavering value investor, and Bank of America isn't the screaming bargain it once was.

When Berkshire Hathaway initially invested $5 billion into BofA preferred stock in August 2011, Bank of America's common stock was valued at a 68% discount to its book value. As of the closing bell on Aug. 14, Bank of America was trading at a 28% premium to its book value. Though this isn't egregiously high, it's no longer a clear price dislocation amid a historically pricey stock market.

Image source: Getty Images.

The Oracle of Omaha takes a bigger piece of the pie for a fourth straight quarter

On the other end of the spectrum, Berkshire's boss opened positions in six new companies during the second quarter -- including the reveal of his mystery stock -- and upped his company's stakes in a half-dozen existing holdings.

For a fourth consecutive quarter, well-known fast-food restaurant chain Domino's Pizza (NASDAQ: DPZ) was on the buy list. Inclusive of dividends paid, Domino's has returned more than 7,200% since its IPO. Though only 13,255 shares of Domino's were added during the second quarter, it nevertheless increased Berkshire's stake in the company to 7.8%!

There are a number of reasons why the Oracle of Omaha and his team continue to want a bigger slice of the pie with this consumer-facing colossus.

To begin with, Domino's Pizza has built trust with consumers over time, which is invaluable in the business world. While not all mea culpa advertising campaigns prove successful, Domino's admitted its mistakes in the late 2000s and vowed to do better. The openness of its messaging and product development over the last 15-plus years has endeared the brand to consumers.

Something else Berkshire's billionaire investor has likely come to appreciate about Domino's is its ability to meet or exceed five-year growth initiatives. Domino's current five-year plan, which was introduced in late 2023, is dubbed "Hungry for MORE." Domino's is leaning on artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its supply chain and output, while also relying on its loyalty rewards program and its franchisees to maintain and/or build the brand.

Another catalyst that may be responsible for spurring four consecutive quarters of buying in Domino's Pizza stock is its capital-return program. It's no secret that Warren Buffett is a big fan of businesses that reward their shareholders and incent long-term investing. Domino's has been growing its base annual payout for more than a decade, and it's been repurchasing its stock on a somewhat regular basis. For businesses with steady or growing net income, buybacks can increase earnings per share and make their stock more fundamentally attractive to investors.

Rounding things out, Domino's Pizza stock is valued at a discount to its average forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio over the trailing half-decade. Its forward P/E of just over 23 works out to a 16% discount to its average forward P/E ratio since 2020. Amid a historically pricey stock market, Buffett is definitely on the lookout for bargains.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Bank of America. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Domino's Pizza. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.