Warren Buffett poses with Martin the Geisha gecko before the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Warren Buffett went on a little stock market shopping spree before Christmas, buying up shares of Occidental Petroleum and other stocks during the December selloff.
Berkshire Hathaway bought an additional 8.9 million shares of the Houston-based energy producer’s stock for $405 million through transactions on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, according to a regulatory filing late Thursday night. The ownership rate exceeded 28%.
During the same period, the Omaha-based conglomerate bought about 5 million shares of SiriusXM stock for about $113 million and about 234,000 shares of Verisign stock for about $45 million. Because these two stocks are much smaller, these trades are likely to be made by Buffett’s investment aides, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
All told, Berkshire has bought $560 million worth of stock over the past three sessions.
The 92-year-old legendary investor appears to have taken advantage of a broad market selloff that made these stocks significantly cheaper.
Occidental stock has fallen more than 10% this month, pushing its 2024 loss to 24%. The energy company, once founded by legendary oil tycoon Armand Hammer, is Berkshire’s sixth largest holding. Buffett has ruled out a full takeover.
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SiriusXM’s decline was even more dramatic. The New York-based satellite radio company is currently on a six-day losing streak, dropping 23% this month and 62% this year.
Berkshire began upping the ante after billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media completed a deal in early September to combine its Tracking stock with the rest of the audio entertainment company. Berkshire’s stake has now increased to approximately 35%. SiriusXM has been grappling with subscriber declines and adverse demographic changes.
Internet giant Verisign also had a tough year in 2024, with its stock price falling 6%, far below the performance of the tech sector. Berkshire first bought tech stocks in 2013, but hasn’t adjusted its stake in years.
