Berkshire Hathaway Boosts Stakes in U.S. Bancorp, BNY Mellon

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) during the second quarter.

The conglomerate disclosed in a regulatory filing that it bought roughly 840,000 shares of U.S. Bancorp's stock, raising its stake in the Minneapolis company to 4.3%. Berkshire Hathaway also bought about 9,000 shares in Bank of New York Mellon, boosting its stake to 2.2%.

Berkshire Hathaway also made a large investment in Goldman Sachs (GS). An amended warrant agreement allowed the firm to receive roughly 13 million shares of the investment bank's stock, or a 2.9% ownership stake.

Berkshire Hathaway didn't add to its sizeable position in Wells Fargo (WFO), though the San Francisco company remains the conglomerate's biggest holding, representing about 21% if its overall portfolio, according to SNL Financial. And the market value of Berkshire Hathaway's Wells Fargo shares rose 6.8% during the third quarter. The Buffett-controlled firm owns 8.7% of Wells Fargo's stock.

Other bank-related positions were unchanged during the quarter, including Berkshire Hathaway's 4.1% stake in M&T Bank (MTB) and its 14.2% stake in American Express (AXP). The firm also has a 0.4% stake in MasterCard (MA) and a 0.3% stake in Visa (V).