Buffett Increases Stakes in BNY Mellon, Wells; Cuts Holdings in USBank, Visa

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) added to its holdings of Wells Fargo (WFC) during the third quarter, fortifying its position as San Francisco company's biggest shareholder.

Berkshire Hathaway built up a bigger stake in Bank of New York Mellon (BK), while trimming its holdings of U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Visa (VISA) during the third quarter, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing.

Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate based in Omaha, Neb., bought about 11.5 million shares of Wells Fargo, adding to its existing 8% stake in the company. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's chairman and chief executive, has said that Wells Fargo's dominance in residential mortgages will reap rewards when the housing market recovers, according to Bloomberg News.

The company also said it added about 914,000 shares of Bank of New York Mellon. It sold about 4.7 million shares of U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis and shed about 524,000 shares of Visa.

Buffett has long held investments in large banks and his portfolio includes common stock in M&T Bank (MTB) in Buffalo, N.Y., and $5 billion of preferred stock and warrants in Bank of America (BAC).