Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway up stake in this healthcare company
'Oracle of Omaha' also buys into Chevron, E.W. Scripps but trims Apple holdings
Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway company have upped their stake in DaVita Inc., a health care company specializing in kidney health and disease.
AMAZON-BERKSHIRE-JPMORGAN HEALTH CARE VENTURE, HAVEN, CLOSING IN FEBRUARY
According to a Feb. 12 regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Berkshire Hathaway's stake in DaVita now stands at 33% with a total of 36,095,570 shares. Berkshire Hathway remains DaVita's largest shareholder.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK.B | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 483.13 | +4.87 | +1.02% |
| DVA | DAVITA INC. | 165.60 | -2.38 | -1.42% |
The move comes after Berkshire Hathway sold 2 million shares of DaVita in September for $176 million, a per-share price of $88, and just four days after DaVita reported net income for the fourth quarter of $173.77 million, or $1.50 per share compared to $244.87 million, or $1.88 per share, a year ago.
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DaVita was not alone in getting the financial "thumbs up" from the "Oracle of Omaha."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. | 43.85 | -0.49 | -1.11% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 162.21 | +0.28 | +0.17% |
| SSP | THE E.W. SCRIPPS CO. | 2.03 | +0.03 | +1.50% |
A 13-F filing shows Berkshire Hathway now holds 147.6 million shares of telecommunications giant Verizon as of the end of 2020. The position is valued at around $8.6 billion and is the sixth-largest position in Berkshire's portfolio. Buffett's giant holding company also purchased 48.4 million shares of oil titant Chevron and 23.07 million shares of E.W. Scripps, the nation’s fourth-largest local TV broadcaster which also has several cable and digital video services in its portfolio.
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Berkshire also boosted its positions in pharmaceutical companies AbbiVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck, while selling off all of its shares in Pfizer.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBV | ABBVIE INC. | 182.93 | -0.15 | -0.08% |
| BMY | BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB CO. | 59.22 | -0.05 | -0.08% |
| MRK | MERCK & CO. INC. | 101.64 | -1.48 | -1.44% |
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 26.21 | +0.38 | +1.47% |
The company also exited positions in JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial and trimmed its position in Wells Fargo by about 58%, selling 74.95 million shares.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 249.72 | -0.07 | -0.03% |
| PNC | THE PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP INC. | 214.72 | -0.28 | -0.13% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 76.17 | -1.04 | -1.35% |
It also trimmed its stake in Apple by 5.4% after selling 57.16 million shares.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 239.59 | +2.26 | +0.95% |
Apple still remains Berkshire Hathway's largest stock holding, with a total of 907,559,761 shares with a value of about $120 billion as of the end of 2020
Buffett also ended the investment in Barrick Gold Corp. Last August, the $500 million-plus investment raised plenty of eyebrows on Wall Street as Buffett has rarely been a booster of the precious metal.
No sooner did Buffett buy into the company, than its stock soared to a 7-year high. The stock for Barrick closed down fractionally Tuesday but is down more than 16% for the last three months.