Bridgewater Associates, the mega hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed in a portfolio update filing that its top trades during the first quarter included a major reduction to its Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) holding and the closure of its positions in Bank of America Corp. (BAC, Financial), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, Financial), Baidu Inc. (BIDU, Financial) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC, Financial). The firm also boosted its investment in Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL, Financial).
Dalio founded the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm in 1975. Bridgewater's portfolio management team applies Dalio’s key principles to its process, which include employing radical truth and radical transparency, encouraging open and honest dialogue and allowing the best thinking to prevail.
Dalio stepped down as co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater in October 2022 as part of his succession plan to convert the firm into an employee-owned business. As of March, the firm’s $16.39 billion 13F equity portfolio contains 710 stocks, with 118 new positions and a quarterly turnover ratio of 11%. The top three sectors in terms of weight are consumer defensive, health care and consumer cyclical, representing 28.43%, 21.31% and 11% of the equity portfolio.
Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.
Berkshire Hathaway
Bridgewater sold 358,998 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, Financial), slicing 99.48% of the position and 0.61% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway averaged $308.18 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.22 as of Thursday.
Led by CEO Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), the Omaha, Nebraska-based insurance conglomerate owns a wide range of subsidiaries, including Geico, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group. The company has a GF Score of 60 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 8 out of 10, a profitability rank of 6 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10, a growth rank of 2 out of 10 and a GF Value rank of 1 out of 10.
Bank of America
Bridgewater sold all 3,205,636 shares of Bank of America (BAC, Financial), trimming 0.58% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Bank of America averaged $33.01 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.73 as of Thursday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank has a GF Score of 74 out of 100 based on a GF Value rank of 10 out of 10, a profitability rank of 6 out of 10, a growth rank of 5 out of 10 and a rank of 4 out of 10 for momentum and financial strength.
Even though the bank’s net profit margin and return on equity outperform just over 55% of global competitors, Bank of America has a business predictability rank of three stars out of five.
Berkshire owns 1,032,852,006 shares of Bank of America, giving the position 9.09% weight in its $325.11 billion 13F equity portfolio. The position represents Berkshire’s second-largest holding.
JPMorgan Chase
Bridgewater sold all 692,356 shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Financial), reducing its equity portfolio by 0.51%.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase averaged $137.02 during the first quarter; the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.92 as of Thursday.
The New York-based bank has a GF Score of 78 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 8 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10 and a rank of 6 out of 10 for growth, GF Value and profitability.
JPMorgan Chase’s positive investing signs include a 3.5-star business predictability rank and a return on equity that outperforms approximately 74% of global competitors.
Baidu
The firm sold all 702,473 shares of Baidu (BIDU, Financial), trimming 0.44% of its equity portfolio.
Shares of Baidu averaged $141.83 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.83 as of Thursday.
The Chinese online search giant has a GF Score of 79 out of 100 based on a profitability rank of 8 out of 10, a GF Value rank of 7 out of 10, a momentum rank of 3 out of 10 and a rank of 6 out of 10 for growth and financial strength.
Wells Fargo
Bridgewater sold all 1,719,089 shares of Wells Fargo (WFC, Financial), reducing its equity portfolio by 0.39%.
Shares of Wells Fargo averaged $43.59 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.87 as of Thursday.
The San Francisco-based bank has a GF Score of 70 out of 100 based on a GF Value rank of 7 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 3 out of 10 and a rank of 5 out of 10 for momentum, profitability and growth.
Alphabet
The firm invested in 1,564,554 Class A shares of Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial), expanding the position by 210.36% and its equity portfolio by 0.99%.
Shares of Alphabet averaged $95.94 during the first quarter; the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.83 as of Thursday.
The Mountain View, California-based online media giant has a GF Score of 99 out of 100 based on a rank of 10 out of 10 for profitability and growth, a financial strength rank of 9 out of 10, a momentum rank of 8 out of 10 and a GF Value rank of 7 out of 10.
