BUZZ-Berkshire's slowing BofA stake sale could disappoint investors, KBW says

Brokerage KBW says investors will likely be disappointed in the slower-than-expected progress in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N selling down its stake in Bank of America BAC.N, as it continues to represent a hangover on the stock

Berkshire late Friday disclosed it had cut its BofA stake by ~15% to 680.2 million shares, leaving the conglomerate with a 8.9% stake in the second-largest U.S. lender as of December 31

Buffett's Berkshire has reduced its BofA stake by one-third since July, when it held 1.03 billion shares

KBW says Berkshire's slowing selling pace despite higher BofA stock price creates uncertainty around the conglomerate's longer-term strategy

Says Berkshire's disclosure shows a nearly 57% decline in the estimated pace of sales by the company since the selling spree started back in July

BofA stock has underperformed rivals JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Wells Fargo WFC.N, and Citigroup C.N in the past three months

Investors were curious if the stock underperformance was due to selling pressure from Berkshire, analysts had said ahead of the conglomerate's regulatory filing

Continue to like BAC's stock owing to strength in a higher-for-longer interest rate scenario - KBW