Warren Buffett has sold net stocks for seven consecutive quarters. He has also Berkshire-HathawayCash, cash equivalents and short-term investments increased to nearly $277 billion – the largest cash holding in the company’s history.

Has the legendary investor thrown in the towel on the stock market? Not quite. Buffett just bought shares in seven companies. I think one of them is the best of all.

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Buffett added to Berkshire’s existing positions in five stocks in the second quarter of 2024. I was not surprised that Occidental Petroleum (OXY -0.38%) was one of them. Buffett is a big fan of Occidental, as is the company’s CEO, Vicki Hollub. The stock is Berkshire’s sixth-largest holding.

Berkshire’s purchase of over 1.1 million shares of Chubb (NYSE: CB) in the second quarter was no surprise either. Buffett began buying the insurer last year without disclosing the identity of the stock. In recent quarters, he has invested aggressively in Chubb. It is now the ninth largest position in Berkshire’s portfolio.

Buffett’s three additional purchases of existing positions in the second quarter have one thing in common. He increased Berkshire’s stake in Liberty Media Corp Series A (NASDAQ:LSXM) And Liberty Media Corp Series C (NASDAQ:LSXMK)Buffett also bought another 96.2 million shares of SiriusXM Holdings (NASDAQ:SIRI)which increased Berkshire’s position in the satellite radio operator by more than 262%. Liberty Media owns more than 83% of Sirius XM’s outstanding shares.

New positions

Ulta Beauty (ULTA -0.04%) was the largest new position for Berkshire Hathaway in the second quarter. Buffett and his team bought more than 690,000 shares of the cosmetics retailer at the end of the second quarter, valued at around $266 million.

Buying Ulta looks like a classic buy on a dip. Ulta stock has fallen about 20% since the beginning of the year, and the decline is largely due to the company’s disappointing annual forecast. Ulta CEO Dave Kimbell warned that consumer spending on cosmetics has declined.

Buffett also opened a new position in Heico (College -0.71%) in the second quarter, buying more than 1 million shares of the aerospace and electronics company. Unlike Ulta Beauty, Heico has posted strong gains in 2024, with its shares up nearly 35%.

Business is going well at Heico. The company reported record sales and profits in its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, released in May. Acquisitions continue to be a key growth driver for Heico.

The best of all

If you are an income investor, Sirius XM’s juicy dividend yield of 3.6% might attract you. The company’s dividend payout ratio of 31.5% is also low, suggesting financial flexibility that could allow the company to increase the dividend.

If you are a value investor, the two Liberty Media stocks might be more to your liking. Both trade at an earnings multiple of under 6.3. Analysts who LSEG We also expect Liberty Media to deliver strong earnings growth over the next five years.

However, I think Occidental Petroleum is the best stock overall among Buffett’s second-quarter purchases. The stock is attractively valued at a forward earnings multiple of around 14.5. It offers a modest forward dividend yield of over 1.5%. CEO Hollub is predicting an oil shortage by the end of next year, and if she’s right, the stock could skyrocket in the not-too-distant future.

Buffett praised Occidental’s pioneering work in developing carbon capture and storage technologies, saying if the company succeeds here, it could be a big winner for investors in the coming years.