Berkshire Hathaway, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, sold 41 million shares in Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 amidst the global drop in oil prices.
The original investment of the stock was made in the third quarter of 2013 and increased over time, Nasdaq reports. At the peak of Berkshire Hathaway investment in Exxon Mobil, the company was regarded as one of its biggest shareholders.
Overall, Exon Mobile has been struggling with the decline in oil prices, which began when crude oil prices dropped by approximately 50 percent in June.
Berkshire has "not really had the hot hand in energy," Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit said in a phone interview, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
"The whole energy sector obviously is now traded in completely different circumstances."
Although Exxon Mobile has experiences unfavorable stock results due to the drop in crude oil prices, the company is said to make a recovery this year.
"ExxonMobil struggled last year, as virtually all oil and gas companies did due to the crash in oil prices. There was nothing ExxonMobil could do about the price of oil; but investors should be pleased by what the company is doing about the things it can control. Namely, ExxonMobil completed several high-profile projects last year that will significantly add to production in the years ahead," The Motley Fool writes in a review of Exxon Mobil.
"When oil prices finally recover, these projects will pay huge dividends. That's why, although 2014 was admittedly a disappointment, 2015 will likely be a better year for ExxonMobil shareholders."
Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1955 in Rhode Island.
