Warren Buffett poses with Martin, the Geico gecko, prior to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2024.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Warren Buffett was shopping the stock market before Christmas and picked up shares Western petroleum including during a quick sale in December.
Berkshire Hathaway bought an additional 8.9 million shares in the Houston-based energy producer for $405 million in trades on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, raising its stake above 28%, according to a filing with regulators late Thursday night.
During the same period, the Omaha-based conglomerate also bought about 5 million shares Sirius XM for approximately $113 million, as well as approximately 234,000 shares VeriSign for approximately $45 million. These two holdings are much smaller in size, so these trades could be made by Buffett’s investing lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
All told, Berkshire bought more than $560 million worth of stock over the past three sessions.
The 92-year-old legendary investor appeared to have benefited from a broad market pullback that made these stocks much cheaper.
Shares of Occidental are down more than 10% this month, putting losses in 2024 at 24%. The energy company, once known for being founded by legendary oilman Armand Hammer, is Berkshire’s sixth-largest stock company. Buffett has ruled out a full takeover.
Western petroleum
Sirius XM’s selloff was more dramatic. The New York-based satellite radio company is currently in its six-day losing streak, down 23% this month and 62% this year.
Berkshire began raising this bet after billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media completed the deal early September to combine its tracking shares with the rest of the audio entertainment company. Now Berkshire’s stake has risen to about 35%. SiriusXM is struggling with subscriber losses and unfavorable demographic shifts.
Internet name VeriSign has also had a difficult year: the share fell by 6% in 2024 and performed significantly less well than the technology sector. Berkshire first bought the tech stock in 2013 and hasn’t touched the stock in years.