Warren Buffett takes the floor before Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on May 3, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.
David A. Grogen | CNBC
Warren Buffett went on a little shopping spree on the stock market before Christmas and bought shares of Occidental Petroleum including during a quick sell-off in December.
Berkshire Hathaway The company acquired an additional 8.9 million shares of the Houston-based energy producer for $405 million through transactions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, according to a regulatory filing late Thursday evening, increasing its stake to more than 28%.
During the same period, the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate also purchased approximately 5 million shares of SiriusXM for around $113 million and around 234,000 shares of VeriSign for about $45 million. These two holdings are much smaller, so these transactions could be carried out by Buffett's investment lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.
In total, Berkshire has bought more than $560 million worth of stocks over the past three sessions.
The 94-year-old legendary investor appeared to have taken advantage of a broad market decline that made these stocks significantly cheaper.
Occidental shares have fallen more than 10% this month, bringing losses in 2024 to 24%. The energy company, founded by legendary oilman Armand Hammer, is Berkshire's sixth-largest holding. Buffett has ruled out a full takeover.
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Occidental Petroleum
The selloff at Sirius XM was more dramatic. The New York-based satellite radio company is currently on a six-day losing streak, falling 23% this month and 62% this year.
Berkshire began expanding that bet after billionaire John Malone's Liberty Media completed its deal in early September to combine its tracking shares with the rest of the audio entertainment company. Berkshire's stake has now risen to around 35%. SiriusXM is struggling with subscriber losses and unfavorable demographic shifts.
Internet name VeriSign also had a difficult year, with its shares falling 6% in 2024, significantly underperforming the technology sector. Berkshire first bought the technology stock in 2013 and hasn't adjusted its stake in years.
Correction: Warren Buffett is 94 years old. An earlier version misstated his age.