Warren Buffet disclosed on Friday that an investment manager at his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A), bought shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), a producer of natural gas liquids and petrochemicals. The disclosure from Buffet, which was made during an interview on Bloomberg television, sent PSX shares higher on Friday.
Buffett said that one of his company’s new investment mangers bought shares of PSX. It may be recalled that PSX was spun off from ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) back in May. The billionaire investor, however, did not provide any further details on the investment.
Houston, Texas-based Phillips 66 owns refining, midstream and chemical businesses.
Buffett had bought 17.5 million shares of COP in 2007. In 2008, when oil prices soared, Buffett raised his stake in COP to 84.9 million shares. But, the decision to raise stake in COP cost BRK.A shareholders billions of dollars. In an annual letter to shareholders in 2009, Buffett said that he did not expect oil prices would fall as sharply as they did in late 2008, at the peak of the financial crisis.
Berkshire has since reduced its stake in COP to 29.1 million shares. The company has also written down the value of its COP holdings.
Phillips 66 shares rose 5.85% to finish the day at $34.94 on Friday. The stock touched an intra-day high of $35.08.
In the last one month, PSX shares have gained 4.21%. Since spinning off from ConocoPhillips in May, PSX shares have gained 6.65%. In the same period, the S&P 500 fell 3.49%.
COP shares also rose on Friday, ending the day 1.85% higher at $54.98. The stock touched an intra-day high of $55.05 on Friday. Year-to-date, COP shares have fallen 24.55%, underperforming the S&P 500, which gained 7.88% in the same period.
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