Berkshire Hathaway bought nearly 9.6 million shares of Occidental Petroleum in the past week, spending about $529 million, according to a regulatory filing disclosed late Wednesday.
Warren Buffett’s conglomerate made the purchases between June 17 and June 22 and now owns a 16.3% stake in the oil company, making it the largest stockholder.
After the purchase, Berkshire has about 152.7 million Occidental Petroleum shares worth about $8.52 billion (after Wednesday’s trading).
Occidental’s share prices are up 92% this year as they have benefited from rising global oil prices. The company’s shares were up more than 3% in early trading Thursday.
During their annual shareholder meeting last May, Berkshire said it owned a nearly $26 billion stake in Chevron. The oil giant became the third top investment for Buffett, only eclipsed by after Apple and Bank of America.
Also known as The Oracle of Omaha for being closely followed by markets and his peers, Buffett is considered as one of the best investors of all time, and this year he has been very active and oil companies have been his top target.
According to reports Berkshire has spent $51.1 billion on equities in the first quarter of the year, including the increase in Chevron stake.
