Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is betting the oil boom won’t end anytime soon. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it spent about $529 million to buy nearly 9.6 million shares of Occidental Petroleum last week.
Berkshire Hathaway made the purchases between June 17th and 22nd. Buffett’s conglomerate now holds a 16.3% stake in Occidental Petroleum, making it by far the largest owner of the shares. Mutual fund giant Vanguard is the second largest investor, with a nearly 11% stake in the company.
Occidental Petroleum has been the best performer in the S&P 500 this year, rising 92% as oil prices soared. Shares rose more than 3% in early trading on Thursday (23).
But Occidental isn’t the only energy company Berkshire is betting on. Chevron, Dow’s top stock in 2022, is also a favorite of Buffett and his team of investors. Berkshire executives Ted Weschler and Todd Combs manage the portfolio along with Oracle of Omaha.
Berkshire disclosed at its annual shareholders meeting in May that Chevron was one of the company’s top holdings at the end of the first quarter.
The company said it owned a nearly $26 billion stake in the oil giant, a position second only to its holdings in Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC) and American Express (AXP) in season. The value of Berkshire’s long-standing stake in Coca-Cola (KO) surpassed that of Chevron and AmEx.
The oil and energy business is also an important part of Berkshire’s overall operating business. The company’s energy subsidiary owns major electric utilities including PacifiCorp and MidAmerican, natural oil and gas pipelines, and several renewable energy companies.
Greg Abel, the Berkshire vice president who oversees it, as well as the company’s other non-financial businesses, was chosen last year to succeed Buffett, 91, as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Source: CNN Brasil
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