Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold its Occidental Petroleum Corp. common equity in the second quarter, heaping further pressure on one of the worst performers during this year’s historic oil rout.
Berkshire had built up the stake in addition to its $10 billion investment in preferred shares last year, which helped fund Occidental’s ill-fated takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. It also received its most-recent $200 million-a-quarter dividend from the preferred shares in common stock.
That Berkshire no longer shows a stake in Occidental, revealed in a regulatory filing Friday, indicates that Buffett has been selling the common stock he received as dividends to reduce his overall exposure to the Houston-based oil producer.
Occidental has tumbled 64% this year, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500 Energy Index.’
