Berkshire has been selling a top healthcare holding it's owned for over a decade. Here's why

Berkshire Hathaway resumed selling shares of DaVita , a provider of kidney dialysis services, after the holding more than quadrupled in price. A new regulatory filing this week revealed that Berkshire sold another 200,010 shares of DaVita through multiple transactions between May 22-27. Berkshire remains DaVita's biggest institutional investor with a 42.3% stake, according to FactSet. The stock, which Berkshire first bought in 2011, is still the conglomerate's 10th biggest holding. This is just the latest sale by Warren Buffett's sprawling, Omaha-based empire has trimmed its stake in DaVita. In late February, Berkshire sold another 750,000 shares for $116 million over several days. Neither the filing for that sale nor the latest one mentioned an agreement reached in April 2023 under which DavIta agreed to buy back shares each quarter to reduce Berkshire's stake to 45%, and neither sale was of that plan. Rising costs Berkshire's latest round of selling came as DaVita suffered from rising patient care and operating costs. The Denver, Colorado-based company recently experienced disruptions from hurricanes as well as a ransomware attack, and the industry is also grappling with more onerous reimbursement and regulatory restrictions. The stock is down about 9% this year after surging 40% in each of the past two years. DaVita has quadrupled since Berkshire first bought the stock in 2011, closing Friday at $136.26 versus $34.74 at the end of 2010. DVA 5Y mountain DaVita over the past five years Berkshire's DVA stake is believed to be the work of portfolio manager Ted Weschler since his hedge fund had invested in the stock before he joined Berkshire in 2011. In 2014 , Weschler told CNBC that he bought the stock because DaVita delivers "better quality of care," high return on capital with predictable growth and a shareholder-friendly management. He also liked that the company's efficiency helped it to "deliver a net savings to the health care system." DaVita, founded in 1994, provides kidney dialysis services through at-home dialysis and a network of outpatient clinics across the United States.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

American Military News

42 minutes ago

• American Military News

Widespread pay cuts in China drive down consumer spending, fuel deflationary fears

This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Chinese workers across industries are facing salary cuts and layoffs as mounting economic woes engulf China's public and private sectors, sources tell Radio Free Asia. That's forcing families to slash spending. It is also triggering deflationary concerns as businesses enter into desperate price wars. From Beijing's central government offices to provincial agencies across China, as well as major state-owned enterprises like investment bank China International Capital Corp (CICC), employees have faced substantial pay reductions that have reduced household budgets and fundamentally altered consumer spending patterns. 'I used to earn 6,000 yuan (or US$835) a month but now I only get 5,000 yuan (US$696), and some allowances have been removed too,' Li, an employee at a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, told RFA. Like many others interviewed for this story, Li wanted to be identified by a single name for safety reasons. 'Some people in my wife's company have also had their salaries cut and some have received layoff notices, saying they will only work until July-end,' said Li. In Zhejiang, regarded one of China's most prosperous provinces, ordinary civil servants have had their annual salaries slashed by 50,000 to 60,000 yuan (or US$6,964-US$8,356) this year, Zheng, a resident of the province's Zhuji city, told RFA. Civil servants in more senior positions have seen deeper reductions to their annual pay of around 80,000 to 100,000 yuan (or US$11100-US$13900) and others in still higher levels by about 150,000 yuan (or US$20,890), Zheng said. 'There was already a reduction two years ago. This year's salary is reduced again,' he added. The cuts indicate the financial strain on local governments, as domestic economic challenges lead to tepid consumer demand and price pressures. That's impacting businesses' ability to pay taxes. Additionally, local governments are grappling with a decline in land transfer sales revenue amid weak property market demand. For 2025, China's provincial regions have set cautious fiscal revenue estimates, with an average growth target of 2.8% for their general public budget revenue, which is the sum of tax and non-tax revenue. That's down 1.6 percentage points from 2024's target average, as revenue generation challenges continue to weigh on local governments, economists say. For example, in Shandong, many real estate projects have been suspended for the past two years with no land sales recorded, impacting the local government's already large fiscal debt levels, said one blogger based in the northeastern coastal province, according to texts and pictures posted on X account @whyyoutouzhele, also known as 'Mr. Li is not your teacher,' who posts content on that platform to circumvent Chinese government censorship. Another Shandong resident, named Geng, told RFA, that county and township level officials in the province have had their salaries slashed by 30%, with payments frequently delayed. 'Now the county-level finances have been depleted, and the benefits for police officers have also been reduced,' Geng, a resident of Qingdao city, said. Police officers in many other regions have also seen significant cuts to their annual salaries, down to 200,000 yuan (US$27,856) this year from 300,000 yuan (US$41,784) a year ago, said a legal professional based in southeast China's Guangdong province. Employees of major Chinese state-owned commercial enterprises, such as investment bank CICC and China Development Bank, have not been spared either, with companies executing cost-cutting 'optimization measures,' including wage reductions and layoffs, amid a government campaign to cap pay ceilings at financial institutions and bring it more on par with other civil servants But an employee at CICC said the salary cuts have affected virtually all staff levels. 'Almost everyone in our building has had their salaries cut. The lowest-level employees have also had their salaries cut by 5%. I heard that the reductions for mid- and high-paid employees are even greater,' he said. According to a report from Beijing-based Caixin media group, 27 government-owned financial enterprises have begun to implement salary cuts, mainly aimed at reaching the goal of capping annual income of staff at these firms at 1 million yuan (US$139,180), as Beijing moves forward with a campaign, known as 'common prosperity' drive, to narrow income and wealth inequality. Ma, who works at a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, said his company has already conducted two rounds of salary cuts and layoffs since 2023. 'The basic salary has shrunk, and the company has also cancelled meal and transportation subsidies,' Ma said. 'The work that used to be done by two or three people now has to be done by one person.' Another employee of a state-owned bank based in Guangdong's Dongguan city said his salary had been reduced by 30% in the past two years, with performance bonuses 'almost completely cut.' The salary reductions have sparked a sharp decline in consumer spending, creating deflationary pressures across the economy, as businesses engage in aggressive price cutting in a desperate bid to attract cash-strapped consumers. 'The price war has become the latest struggle for many small businesses,' Meng, a Shandong resident, told RFA. 'For example, the good ribs here only sell for 12 yuan (or US$1.67) a pound, and the purchase price of live pigs is only a few yuan … restaurants are desperately offering discounts to survive. This is not competition, but dragging each other down.' In Beijing, small supermarkets are 'slashing prices like crazy,' said Su, a resident of the city's Haidian District. 'I'm afraid they will all go bankrupt in a few months at this rate.' In her own home too, Su has observed major changes in spending patterns, with fewer family gatherings and less frequent restaurant meals, as household budgets tighten. Economist Wu Qinxue warned that the current situation highlights continued decline in local governments' fiscal levels and is not just a temporary belt-tightening. 'The (local) government has no money to manage people, and no one is willing to spend money,' he said. 'From salary cuts within the system to the collapse of consumption among ordinary people, the entire society is quietly forming a top-down (consumer belt-) 'tightening chain.''

Hamilton Spectator

2 hours ago

• Hamilton Spectator

Dutchie's Fresh Market and company director fined for not paying employees

A former Dutchie's Fresh Market butcher told court Friday that getting shortchanged on his wages made him feel 'betrayed and exploited.' Dutchie's pleaded guilty to nine charges, under the Employment Standards Act, of failing to comply with orders to pay employees. Michael Renkema, the sole director of the Waterloo-based company, pleaded guilty to four charges. In provincial offences court in Kitchener on Friday, the company was fined $25,000; Renkema was fined $7,500. Complaints about unpaid wages surfaced in October 2021. Several employees were shortchanged. The charges involve a total of $35,956 in unpaid wages. Employees have now been paid what they were owed. The man who worked as a butcher at Dutchie's got a job there shortly after moving to Canada. 'We came to Canada with the goal of providing a better life for our family,' he wrote in a victim impact statement read aloud in court. 'When the payment delays began, I felt betrayed and exploited. I could not afford groceries for my family and had to rely on the Kitchener food bank for food.' 'It was hard to accept that this happened, especially since I had worked so hard and never imagined facing such a challenging situation within just five months of living in Canada,' he added. The first Dutchie's opened more than 40 years ago. At one point, the company had three grocery stores in Kitchener-Waterloo. Only one remains. Rachel Goldenberg, counsel for Dutchie's, explained what happened. 'Some very severe issues with the company's refrigeration vendor came to light in 2021,' she told court. 'As a result, the company faced significant financial losses in the millions of dollars and incurred significant debt.' 'The defendants deeply regret that when faced with this sudden loss of financial resources and mounting debt, employees were not paid their wages,' she said. They chose not to declare bankruptcy, Goldenberg said, because 'they did not want to deprive the employees and other creditors of amounts owed.' Renkema has not taken a salary or dividends from the company since the financial challenges began, she said, and 'he does not plan to do so until the company's debts are satisfied.' In handing out the fines, justice of the peace Michael Cuthbertson said Dutchie's employees were 'deprived of their livelihood.' 'I must ensure that Mr. Renkema and the corporation never again put themselves in the position of depriving employees of their wages, including any overtime work,' he said. 'Equally important, this message must be driven to employers … who have employees who are dependent on their wages: Those wages must be paid.' It's good news that all employees have been paid, Cuthbertson said. 'On the aggravating side, it took a long time to get here, and the employees had to suffer without those wages for quite a long time.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Bloomberg

3 hours ago

• Bloomberg

Value Investing Is Getting a MAGA Bump

Value investing has been out of style for over a decade. Even Warren Buffett, who began his career as a deep-value investor, flipped the formula and favored quality businesses. But cheap, unloved companies outside of the US are starting to outperform. Year-to-date, international value stocks beat the S&P 500 by more than 10 percentage points.