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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased more Occidental Petroleum stock.
AFP via Getty Images
Warren Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway
disclosed the purchase of another large block of
Occidental Petroleum
stock.
Berkshire Hathaway
(ticker: BRK.A) paid $250 million from July 11 through 13 for a total of 4.3 million more shares of oil giant Occidental Petroleum (
OXY
), according to a form Buffett’s company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The latest buy in a recent tear of purchases now puts its Occidental investment at 179.7 million shares, a 19.2% stake, based on an average of 936.7 million shares outstanding on a diluted basis as of March 31.
Berkshire didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Occidental shares have doubled in value this year, but they have underperformed the general market as of late. A swoon in the energy sector has seen Occidental stock slide 16% from May 31 through Wednesday’s close. The
S&P 500
index, by comparison, fell 8% over the same period.
Berkshire also owns $10 billion of Occidental preferred stock, paying an 8% dividend that it purchased in 2019. Berkshire holds warrants to purchase 83.9 million Occidental common shares at an exercise price of $59.62; those warrants now are out of the money.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.