Out of 64 new positions Bridgewater Associates opened during the third-quarter, the top ones included stakes in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (2.02 million shares valued at $22.72 million) and PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) (118,228 shares), establishing a position in PVH that was worth $17.07 million at the end of September.
It also made a big investment in DaVita Inc (NYSE:DVA), a medical care provider that offers kidney dialysis services to patients who suffer from chronic kidney failure, buying 190,154 shares that were valued at $13.62 million on September 30. Until two years ago, DaVita was known under a different name: DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. It was founded back in 1994, and is based in Denver, Colorado. In its recent third-quarter financial report, DaVita disclosed consolidated revenue of $2.85 billion, alongside operating income of $289 million, which was down from $395 million for the same period of 2017. It also reported cash flow of $362 million and free cash flow of $226 million. Over the past 12 months, the company’s stock price has gained 18.33%. Of the 600+ leading money managers tracked by Insider Monkey’s database, 42 were long DaVita at the end of September, an increase of 8 quarter-over-quarter.
Bridgewater also gained more enthusiasm in Q3 for some of the stocks it had already owned, as it boosted its positions in them during the third-quarter. It raised its stake in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) by 258% to 660,539 shares worth $31.24 million, hiked its Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) holding by 898% to 586,184 shares, valued at $16.91 million, and boosted it United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) share count by 116% to 1.09 million shares, building a position in the company that was valued at $33.3 million on September 30.
On the other hand, Ray Dalio and his team seemed to lose some faith for some of the companies in its portfolio, as it lowered its Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) stake by 95% to 39,614 shares and slashed its CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) stake by 87% to 92,216 shares valued at $7.26 million.
Among the companies Bridgewater Associates decided to dump completely in the third quarter were PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), with the fund saying goodbye to its position in the company that counted 775,654 shares worth around $33.01 million on June 30. It also dumped Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) during Q3, selling off its 208,490 shares that were valued at $21.96 million in the middle of 2018. Bridgewater Associates also sold out of its stake in Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA), which had counted 408,655 shares worth $11.24 million at the end of June. It is interesting that the fund dropped its position in Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA) when other hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey’s database were becoming more bullish on it; 23 money managers were long the stock at the end of the third-quarter, which was up by 3 from the end of the second-quarter.
Disclosure: None
