During the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, the extensive selling activity – particularly of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) stock – of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) drew much attention.
More recently, the trend reversed and numerous massive purchases made by the legendary ‘Oracle of Omaha’ started making headlines once more. A recent – and massive – example came on December 19 when the buying of nearly 9 million Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) shares was disclosed.
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According to the document, Berkshire Hathaway, which owns approximately 10% of the oil giant, acquired the stock at an average price of $45.99 for a total investment of a staggering $409 million.
Is Warren Buffett’s OXY stock bet paying off?
Occidental Petroleum has been a mainstay of the Warren Buffett portfolio for years, and the initial purchase of 4.7 million OXY shares was made in Q3 2019. Documents published on November 15 revealed that the oil giant accounted for 4.9% of the total portfolio at the end of the trimester, and the stake was valued at over $13 billion.
So far, the investment provided somewhat middling returns for the legendary investor. The original OXY trade was executed at the average price of $47, and the stock, mere months later, dipped below $10 as the Covid-19 crisis unfolded.
At press time on December 23, Occidental Petroleum stock is changing hands at $48.08, indicating Buffett is in the green, even if only slightly.
Still, the fate and ultimate profitability of the OXY bet remain uncertain as the shares haven’t exactly performed in 2024 and are 19.94% in red year-to-date (YTD).
Furthermore, though the latest downturn is not unexpected – the Fed’s latest announcement shook the entirety of the stock market – it is interesting that Occidental Petroleum shares experienced only a relatively minuscule rally on Donald Trump’s re-election, despite the President-Elect’s expected ‘drill baby drill’ approach.
Berkshire Hathaway ramps up Q4 stock buying activity
Finally, OXY stock was not Berkshire Hathaway’s only major December investment.
As Finbold reported on December 21, Warren Buffett also disclosed a $107 million purchase of SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI). Similar to Occidental Petroleum, SIRI stock has been struggling in the 2024 bull market, and the shares are 57.96% in the red YTD.
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The last stock purchase disclosed on the day was the $45.4 million investment involving more than 234,000 Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) shares. Compared to OXY and SIRI, VRSN performed relatively well in 2024, as it is only 1.34% in the red YTD.
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