Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s Berkshire Hathaway has made significant stock purchases, acquiring over $560 million worth of shares in Occidental Petroleum (OXY, Financial), Sirius XM, and VeriSign. The company bought nearly 8.9 million shares of Occidental Petroleum for $405 million, increasing its stake to over 28%. This marks Buffett's first increase in Occidental shares in six months. Despite this purchase, Occidental remains Berkshire's sixth-largest holding.
Berkshire also acquired approximately 5 million shares of Sirius XM for $113 million and around 234,000 shares of VeriSign for $45 million. Analysts suggest these smaller transactions might have been executed by Buffett's investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Following the news, shares of Occidental rose by 3.9%, Sirius XM by 12.15%, and VeriSign by 2.79%. However, Occidental's stock has fallen over 6% this month and nearly 20% this year.
Berkshire's cash reserves hit a record $325.2 billion, with significant stock sales, including Apple shares.
