Founded in by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. BRK-B , the conglomerate run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, announced that it's selling around 9 million shares of Wells Fargo NYSE: At first glance, this may sound like an alarming development -- after all, Wells Fargo is one of Berkshire's largest stock investments and is a company Buffett has praised many times.

However, Buffett's reasons for selling have nothing to do with the stock as an investment. Berkshire Hathaway said on April 12 that it's selling about 9 million shares of its Wells Fargo stock position. It has already sold 7. This may sound like a massive amount of stock and it is, to most people , but this move will still leave Berkshire with about million shares of the banking giant. In addition, Berkshire specifically says that the sale has nothing to do with Wells Fargo, or the notorious "fake accounts" scandal that made headlines in It's also important to point out that it could and probably will need to sell more of its shares in future quarters, for the same purpose.

If you glance at Berkshire's portfolio, you'll notice that the company's Wells Fargo stake makes up just about 9. In July , Buffett made such a request, stating at the time that "Berkshire is seeking permission to retain its current ownership position Warren Buffett and his team are selling Wells Fargo shares to control the size of its position, not because of anything to do with the bank as a long-term investment.

Keep in mind that this is a similar activity to the portfolio rebalancing many investors do regularly. For example, I recently revealed that after doubling over the past year, Bank of America NYSE: BAC has become my largest stock holding. I still think Bank of America has massive upside potential, but It's likely that I'll end up selling some of my shares in the near future.

Nothing against the stock -- I just want to keep my position at a certain size. Similar logic applies here. The bottom line is that you shouldn't read too much into this move. There's no reason to think that Wells Fargo isn't still one of Buffett's favorite banks, or that the selling will continue.

If you have a positive opinion of Wells Fargo as a long-term investment, this news shouldn't change your mind. Matthew Frankel owns shares of Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway B shares. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway B shares.

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Matt brought his love of teaching and investing to the Fool in in order to help people invest better.

Wells Fargo & Co - NYSE:WFC - Stock Quote & News - TheStreet

Matt specializes in writing about the best opportunities in bank stocks, REITs, and personal finance, but loves any investment at the right price. Follow me on Twitter to keep up with all of the best financial coverage!

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