Buffett's big stock purchase at the end of the year: increasing holdings in Occidental Petroleum and several other companies
Warren Buffett took advantage of the three-day decline in U.S. stocks this week to increase his holdings in several companies. According to regulatory filings, Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake by 8.9 million shares of Occidental Petroleum (worth $405 million), 5 million shares of Sirius XM (worth $113 million), and $45 million in VeriSign stock during the period from Tuesday to Thursday. Overall, Berkshire invested over $560 million in three days
On the eve of Christmas, Buffett took advantage of the recent sharp decline in U.S. stocks to increase his holdings in several companies, once again demonstrating his investment philosophy of "being greedy when others are fearful."
1. Energy Sector: Occidental Petroleum
According to regulatory filings released Thursday evening Eastern Time, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 8.9 million shares between Tuesday and Thursday this week, with a total value of $405 million, raising its ownership stake to over 28%.
Occidental Petroleum is an energy producer headquartered in Houston, known for being founded by the legendary oil tycoon Armand Hammer, and is currently Berkshire Hathaway's sixth-largest holding.
Notably, Occidental's stock price has fallen over 10% this month, with a year-to-date decline of 24%. Despite this, Buffett remains optimistic about the company's growth prospects, although he has ruled out the possibility of a full acquisition.
On Friday during U.S. trading hours, Occidental's stock rose over 5.7%.
2. Audio Entertainment Sector: Sirius XM
In addition to Occidental Petroleum, Berkshire Hathaway has also made moves in the audio entertainment sector, purchasing approximately 5 million shares of Sirius XM, valued at about $113 million. The sell-off of this New York-based satellite broadcasting company has been even more severe, with a decline of 23% this month and a cumulative decline of 62% this year.
Buffett began increasing his stake in Sirius XM after billionaire John Malone's Liberty Media completed the merger of its tracking stock with other parts of the audio entertainment company in early September. Currently, Berkshire Hathaway's stake in Sirius XM has risen to about 35%. Despite the challenges Sirius XM faces, such as user attrition and adverse demographic changes, Buffett seems to remain optimistic about its future development.
On Friday during U.S. trading hours, Sirius XM's stock rose over 10.7%.
3. Internet Sector: VeriSign
Berkshire Hathaway has also invested in the internet sector, purchasing approximately 234,000 shares of VeriSign, valued at about $45 million. VeriSign is an internet infrastructure service provider, and its stock has declined by 6% this year, significantly lagging behind the overall performance of the technology sector.
Buffett initially purchased shares of VeriSign in 2013 and has not adjusted his stake over the years. This recent increase may indicate that Buffett still has confidence in VeriSign's long-term value, despite the company's underwhelming performance this year On Friday, during intraday trading, VeriSign rose more than 3.9%.
It is worth noting that due to the relatively small scale of investments in Sirius XM and VeriSign, these trades may have been executed by Buffett's investment deputies Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
In summary, Berkshire purchased over $560 million worth of stocks in the past three trading days, with Buffett seizing the opportunity of the market pullback to buy these stocks at lower prices