According to Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B:NYSE) latest 13F regulatory filing with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), Warren Buffett and his two investment officers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler bought more than five million shares in UnitedHealth (UNH:NYSE) during the second quarter. Besides initiating a new position in the struggling healthcare insurer worth $1.6 billion, the period also witnessed sales in two of the cashed-up conglomerates largest positions, namely Apple (AAPL:NASDAQ) and Bank of America (BAC:NYSE).
Evidently, Berkshire Hathway sees recovery potential at troubled healthcare insurer UnitedHealth under returning CEO Stephen Hemsley, and the conglomerate is in good company. Also making the same bet are hedge fund billionaire David Tepper of Appaloosa Management and ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry, whose have also disclosed meaningful stakes.
UnitedHealth’s shares have been hammered this year by rising medical insurance costs, disappointing earnings, a Department of Justice investigation and the sudden departure of CEO Andrew Witty. And Berkshire’s investment is a big vote of confidence in UnitedHealth from a company that knows the insurance business inside out, even if the stake hardly puts a dent in Berkshire’s gargantuan $344 billion cash pile. UnitedHealth was the only stock to receive a ‘Buffett Bounce’ after the latest 13Fs hit the wires, with Berkshire’s filing also revealing new stakes in housebuilders DR Horton (DHI:NYSE) and Lennar (LEN:NYSE), as well as the US’ biggest steel producer Nucor (NUE:NYSE) and billboards operator Lamar Advertising (LAMR:NASDAQ).
Buffett’s firm sold 20 million of its 300 million Apple shares in the second quarter, although the iPhone designer remains Berkshire’s largest holding. Meanwhile, Berkshire topped up holdings in several recent purchases including Pool Corp (POOL:NASDAQ), Constellation Brands (STZ:NYSE) and Domino’s Pizza (DPZ:NASDAQ).
Arguably the world’s most famous investor, Buffett rocked the investing world in May by announcing he will step down as Berkshire’s CEO at the end of 2025, with longtime Berkshire executive Greg Abel set to take over on 1 January 2026. After a strong start to 2025, Berkshire’s shares have been in a downtrend since this seismic news, which prompted stockpicker Michael Crawford to reappraise his view of Berkshire’s prospects.
As Crawford, manager of YFS Chawton Global Equity Income (BJ1GXX3), observed in the fund’s June factsheet: ‘Following the momentous news in May that Warren Buffett intends to retire as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, we reluctantly decided to sell our position. Without Buffett’s capital allocation acumen and given the size and composition of the group, we consider it will be difficult for successor, Greg Abel, to materially outperform the S&P 500.’
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