In a significant move that echoes his decades-long reputation as a savvy investor, Warren Buffett has recently intensified his acquisitions in the U.S. stock marketThis development, disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday evening, showcases Buffett's ongoing strategy to capitalize on perceived opportunities in the market amidst a backdrop of fluctuating stock prices.

Buffett's investment conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, made headlines this week by purchasing shares of three companies: Occidental Petroleum, Sirius XM, and VerizonThe total investment surpassed an impressive $560 million over just three daysSpecifically, Berkshire invested approximately $405 million to acquire nearly 8.9 million shares of Occidental PetroleumThis move increased Berkshire's stake in the company to over 28 percent, marking Buffett's first increase in Occidental holdings in six months.

Occidental has emerged as Berkshire's sixth-largest investment, trailing only behind tech giant Apple, financial services companies like American Express and Bank of America, as well as consumer staples such as Coca-Cola and ChevronBuffett has reiterated that while Berkshire is strengthening its position in Occidental, there is no intention for a full acquisition of the companyFurthermore, Berkshire purchased about 5 million shares of Sirius XM for roughly $113 million and nearly 234,000 shares of Verizon for $45 millionAnalysis indicates that the latter two transactions are considerably smaller and may have been executed by Buffett's investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler.

The market reacted positively to this announcement, with Occidental's stock rising by 3.9 percent, Sirius XM surging by 12.15 percent, and Verizon closing up by 2.79 percentHowever, it's essential to place these figures within the broader context of the companies' performanceOccidental's stock has seen a decline of more than 6 percent since the beginning of December, hitting lows not seen since March 2022, while it has plummeted nearly 20 percent year-to-date

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Sirius XM has faced a staggering decline of approximately 14.36 percent this month, culminating in a nearly 56 percent drop since January.

As these transactions unfolded, Berkshire Hathaway also released its Q3 2024 earnings reportThe results showed a total revenue of $92.995 billion, slightly down from $93.210 billion a year priorOperating profit saw a decline of 6.2 percent, tallying at $10.09 billion, below the previous year's figureEarnings per share landed at $18,272, while net profit reached an astounding $26.251 billion, contrasting previous losses seen during the same quarter last year.

A highlight of the earnings report was a record cash reserve that exceeded $300 billion for the first time, climbing to $325.2 billionThis increase is notable when considering that the cash reserve at the end of Q2 was only $276.9 billion, having marked a significant growth from the $189 billion at the end of Q1. The financial maneuvers that contributed to this increase included the net sale of stocks amounting to about $36.1 billion during the third quarter, inclusive of a significant sale of approximately 100 million shares of Apple.

Investors should note that this marks Berkshire's eighth consecutive quarter of net stock sales, reflecting a cautious stance amid macroeconomic uncertaintiesNotably, the third quarter was the first instance since Q2 of 2018 where Berkshire Hathaway did not engage in stock buybacks.

According to the 13F filing made public in December, Berkshire's overall holdings amounted to a staggering $266 billionThe reduction of Apple in Berkshire's portfolio contributed to a 3% decrease in its allocation towards the tech sectorIn just three months leading up to September, the conglomerate disposed of $34.6 billion in stocks, and the absence of buybacks during this period contributed to the record levels of cash on hand.

An analysis of Berkshire's substantial holdings shows that Apple continues to serve as the crown jewel of Buffett's investment strategy, with 300 million shares valued at around $69.9 billion, representing 26.24% of the portfolio

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