Big news for conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B), which managed to do something that no company outside of the tech sector has ever done before – reach a market capitalization of $1 trillion. Berkshire Hathaway shares are up over 28% in 2024 so far, way above the S&P 500 (SPY) as a whole. Interestingly, this took place just two days before the company’s head, Warren Buffett, turns 94, so that makes for quite a birthday present.
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Reaching the milestone, meanwhile, offered meaning for the stock in and of itself. CFRA Research’s Berkshire analyst Cathy Seifert declared that the trillion-dollar market was “…a testament to the firm’s financial strength and franchise value.” This was especially true given that “…Berkshire represents one of the few remaining conglomerates in existence today.”
Berkshire Sells More Bank of America Stock
It is little wonder why people follow Buffett’s investment moves so closely; being at the head of one of a handful of trillion-dollar companies out there makes him one to watch. But a specific move he recently made will likely not sit well with Bank of America (BAC), as Buffett sold off another $1 billion worth of its stock.
So far, Buffett has dropped roughly $5.4 billion worth of Bank of America stock over the last six weeks. While Buffett personally approves of Bank of America’s CEO—he “like(s) Brian Moynihan enormously”—that hasn’t stopped, or even really slowed, Buffett’s pace of selling. But then, given that Buffett still has about $35.85 billion worth of BAC, this could just be profit-taking.
Is Berkshire Hathaway a Risky Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BRK.B stock based on two Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 29.43% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BRK.B price target of $468 per share implies 1.18% upside potential.