24/7 Wall St. » DVA

Does DaVita Acquisition Make Warren Buffett Rethink His Kidney Dialysis Bet?

Administrator — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:05:24 +0000

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is facing a bit of a drag on its announcement that it is spending some $4.4 billion to acquire HealthCare Partners. This is a transformative deal because DaVita is the leader in kidney dialysis centers and HealthCare Partners operates medical groups and physician networks in only three states.

What is interesting here is that this suddenly makes the new portfolio management team at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) have to consider whether or not the “forever” time period applies to its relatively new investment here.

HealthCare Partners operates centers in Central Florida, Southern Nevada and also in Southern California. The outfit has just over 150 clinics, about 700 staff physicians, and it has a network comprised of over 8,300 doctors who operate independently. It provides and coordinates these services to over 667,000 managed care patients on a comprehensive capitated basis.

The terms of the deal call for DaVita to pay $3.66 billion in cash from its cash on hand and to borrow under its credit facility and to take on new debt. The company also plans to issue almost 9.4 million shares valued at another $758 million or so before the dilution and there may be another $250 million or so in cash payments to partners if certain milestones are reached.

HealthCare Partners generated about $2.4 billion in sales and operating income was roughly $488 million in 2011. DaVita generated $6.98 billion in sales with $1.13 billion in operating income in 2011.

Our question is whether or not this implies that DaVita is wanting to diversify further and further away from kidney care. HealthCare Partners is called “a leader in multispecialty integrated and coordinated care delivery” and its website shows a much more general angle of care compared to DaVita.

Buffett’s most recent Berkshire Hathaway holdings shows in the filing that his 6 million shares were worth $90.17 at the March 31 cut-off date. DaVita shares are now down 1.8% at $79.35.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Buffett, Healthcare, Medical, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, DVA

Hedge Fund Stock Picks: Whale Hunting of the Kingmakers

Administrator — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:43:08 +0000

24/7 Wall St. published the full list of positions already for Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A). While there were some surprises out there and 24/7 Wall St. tracked some of the key additions by “whales” like Farallon, Highbridge, Paulson & Co., SAC Capital, Greenlight Capital and others. These positions were the changes seen in the first quarter and has been consolidated from our prior reports.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was a large gain by Appaloosa Management, with a gain of more than 500,000 shares up to 685,000 shares worth some $303 million. This of course was worth more in April. Farallon put up a new position of just over 192,000 worth some $116 million. Janus only lowered its stake by 0.5% and Apple is still its largest holding at over $3.8 billion, while Vanguard lifted its stake by about 5% worth over $23 billion.

Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) was a strange position on the surface, but easy to explain later. Paulson & Co. was shown to have lifted its stake to 12.37 million shares from NO SHARES at the end of 2011. The problem is that Paulson owned Caesars shares already before the IPO but it was not public before the end of 2011.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) was a 2.4 million share stake by Greenlight Capital (under David Einhorn) worth $72 million, and that was a new position. With an activism flare, maybe this can light some fire under what has been a dead tech-value stock. Another firm, Highbridge Capital Management LLC, added more than 1 million shares as a new position in the first quarter.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was a key addition of Warren Buffett’s Ted Weschler who grew his stake to 6,000,000 from almost 2.7 million shares. This was a doubling of the stake, but we would note that this stock has slid 10% since the end of the quarter. The overall position may be closer to break-even here, but this has a huge portion of the kidney dialysis market as of today.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) was a surprise for us considering that we thought Warren Buffett’s new manager Todd Coombs would have added to this position rather than cutting it. Maybe the valuation premium just became too much. The March 31 stake was 3.63 million shares versus the 4.497 million shares at the end of 2011.

El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) saw more than one move higher. Farallon Capital added another 50% or so to end with 22.49 million shares worth $235 million in the first quarter; Paulson & Co. doubled its stake in the first quarter to 8 million shares worth over $118 million.

Encana Corporation (NYSE: ECA) is a standout because it looks small, but it is a good whale watching stock. BP Capital’s T. Boone Pickens initiated a new position of more than 1.13 million shares worth some $22.3 million.

Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) was a very large gain by Farallon Capital, where the position rose to over 5.65 million shares as of March 31 from only 1.17 million shares at the end of 2011. Paulson & Co. also doubled its stake in the first quarter to 3.24 million shares worth over $87 million shares. With the merger now closed, others have been looking at this despite Walgreen’s issues.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) was another new position of 10 million shares worth more than $250 million. Frankly, we might have guess that Ford would have been chosen. Is it possible that this was a “politically motivated or influenced” as Buffett is such a supporter of Obama? That admittedly seems like a stretch, but if we were looking for auto exposure it would have probably been with Ford.

SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) saw SAC Capital grow from only over 3 million shares at the end of 2011 to 98.2 million shares worth almost $217 million in the first quarter, SAC wheels and deals in shares all the time, so they could have been in and out of a lot more or less shares before, during, and after that point.

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) scored a new large stake in the first quarter by Maverick Capital. The new holdings came to over 5.8 million shares worth some $161 million at the end of the quarter, likely as an “Apple play.”

United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL) was hard not to miss in the whale hunting as well as Appaloosa grew its position by 500% or so up to over 7.9 million shares worth over $146 million.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Accounting, Activist Investor, Analyst Calls, Buffett, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Insider Activity, Large Cap Stocks, Management Change, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance Tagged: AAPL, BRK-A, CSC, CZR, DG, DVA, ECA, EP, ESRX, SIRI, SWKS, UAL

Big Changes to Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Stock Holdings, A to Z

Administrator — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:05:01 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released their most recent U.S.-listed equity holdings for the Berkshire Hathaway empire. This cut off date is as of March 31, 2012 and Mr. Buffett has already said that he was buying some shares since the end of the quarter on weakness.

Also, keep in mind that portfolio managers Todd Combs and Ted Weschler are still new and those new positions of under $200 million $300 million are likely tied to them.

24/7 Wall St. has gone through line by line of each position to see which stocks have been bought and sold as new positions, as well as having added in whether or not the number of shares grew or shrank on each since the prior quarter. We had added some color in on some of the positions if applicable.

Be advised that the number of subsidiaries that this filing covers is 14 entities rather than 18 entities in the prior quarter. There is also a note in the 13F filing showing that the SEC has granted “Confidential Treatment” on some Berkshire stock holdings and that likely suggests that Buffett is still acquiring a position he does not want the public to know about yet. This filing does not signal the half-dozen or more European shares that Buffett said he bought so that remains an outstanding issue as well.

The value of the stock portfolio was $66,151,587,000 at the end of 2011 and this was listed as $75,300,250,000 at the end of March 2012.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was over 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is now 5.6 million shares, HIGHER THAN the 1,793,915 shares last quarter.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is the SAME SIZE at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter and having been raised one quarter ago.

Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters in past reports.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is now 6 million shares worth $541 million and that LARGER THAN BEFORE after having been a new position of 2.684 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed at 22.999 million worth over $1.13 billion. This one had been 20.348 million shares worth $870 million one quarter earlier and it had been a new position just two quarters ago at 4.249 million shares.

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Compensation, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds Tagged: AXP, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, CDCO, COP, COST, CVS, DG, DVA, featured, GCI, GE, GM, GSK, IBM, INTC, IR, JNJ, KFT, KO, LMCA, MA, MCO, MTB, PG, SNY, TMK, UPS, USB, USG, V, VIA, VRSK, WFC, WMT, WPO

Most Likely Stock Purchases By Warren Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DVA, DTV, DG, GD, INTC, IBM, LMCA, V, WFC)

Administrator — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:04:26 +0000

Warren Buffett hosted the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) over the weekend and this Monday morning he gave a long interview to CNBC. In the interview Mr. Buffett noted how he still thinks stocks are cheap. More importantly, Buffett said he was using any weakness to buy stocks right now.

When Team Buffett adds to a position, it is often in the new or relatively new positions already in the Buffett portfolio. 24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at the recent additional stake or new stake positions to see which shares that Mr. Buffett and his team of portfolio managers has likely added to along with some color and logic behind the move.

CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) was a larger position as of the end of 2011 at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter. This was worth about $280 million at the start of 2012 and it is up more than 10% since then and the market cap here is $58 billion.

Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was previously listed as a new position of 2.684 million shares worth $203 million at the end of 2011 but that position is worth about 12% more. This is the leader as a kidney dialysis provider. If the health trends remain then this one is right up Buffett’s alley.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was most recently listed as a larger position which was listed as 20.348 million shares worth $870 million at the end of 2011. In a prior report we had it as a new position of 4.249 million shares one quarter earlier. The share price alone is up over 13% from the value at the end of 2011.

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is one of the stocks which we think Team Buffett would have liked to own much more of. The rapid rise in the value of the dollar store trends as a secular theme was even noticed at Berkshire. This was the same size at the end of 2011 at 4.497 million shares but this was a new position and a larger position and it seems that the price just appreciated too fast for Buffett and friends to add many shares. Perhaps they participated in the most recent secondary offering, but that might not appear based on the cut-off dates.

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) was most recently a larger stake of 3.877 million shares worth $257 million after being listed as a new position just one quarter earlier before of 3.064 million shares. These shares are hardly higher than the end of 2011, so perhaps Buffett and team have added to the stake on weakness.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) was a larger of 11.495 million shares worth $278 million at the end of 2011; this was a new position of 9.333 million shares last quarter. Shares are up 16% so far in 2012, so Buffett’s stake here may have grown in size and in value.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is one that Buffett already hinted at owning more of, but perhaps that is due to IBM’s share float shrinking from its buybacks. The most recent filing showed some 63.905 million shares worth some $11.75 billion now after having been a new position with an average cost of about $170 per share. Buffett’s bet has been worth more than a 10% unrealized gain ($1 billion or so) on what is now one of his largest positions.

Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMCA) was a new position of 1.7 million shares worth some $132.7 million. If Buffett is involved much here, it is under his new portfolio managers. Shares are up about 6% this year so far but it is unknown what the real goal or strategy is here when you consider the DirecTV angle.

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) was most recently listed as a larger position of 2.865 million shares worth $291 million at the end of 2011. This was listed as 2.291 million shares in the previous quarter. The company has a near-duopoly and market strength and history that it seems just like a Buffett dream. He likes banks, but owning the toll road providers for the theme of consumers using less cash and more card swipes in the years ahead.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is almost certainly a larger stake. The reason for believing that is that Wells Fargo seems to be a position which grows in size infinitely and it was raised during the prior filing period to more than 383 million shares. As of Friday’s closing bell, that stake (assuming no share count growth at all) would be worth a shopping $12.65 billion.

It is unlikely that Buffett would have added to each and every position. He just doesn’t do that and his new team may be more interested in adding on other new targeted stocks on the books.

Again, here is the FULL BUFFETT STOCK HOLDINGS.

If you enjoyed the top Buffett picks, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers, Warren Buffett and guru tracking, and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Activist Investor, Buffett, Conglomerates, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Private Equity Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, CVS, DG, DTV, DVA, GD, IBM, INTC, LMCA, V, WFC

Buffett’s Unusual Position At Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (BRK-A, BRK-B, GS, IBM, INTC, MSFT, DVA, DG, KO, WFC)

Administrator — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:55:37 +0000

This weekend has perhaps the most widely followed annual meeting from any public company in America as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) will have its shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. We expect that this may be a different sort of meeting than in the past. Warren Buffett has two highly unusual stances which are going to be front and center. The first is the most unpleasant issue…

Prostate cancer and the issue of Buffett’s successor are likely first. Will this cause shareholders to call for a more focused disclosure over who will take over as CEO? Even if so, every Berkshire Hathaway investor knows that Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett and Warren Buffett is Berkshire Hathaway. Our take: Buffett is likely to divulge his successor only when it is on his terms or when the decision must be announced.

The second issue is The Buffett Rule. Most of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are not exactly middle class. They are usually the one-percenters, at least they are for the A-Shares with that super-high share price. Warren Buffett was met with a cold stare from the audience before when he defended Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and it will be interesting to see how the audience reacts to any notion of paying higher taxes and their chief capitalist calling for Obama and Washington D.C. to increase the tax burden on the wealthy.

While this may seem like a sideshow, the investments in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) almost have to be a topic to bring up. For years Mr. Buffett has shied away from technology. A $10 billion bet or thereabouts has only grown in value and we all know that Buffett said he would never invest in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) because his close ties with Bill Gates would be construed as possessing knowledge that is too close to the situation.

It will be interesting to see if Buffett addresses relatively new positions such as DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG). DaVita is the king of kidney dialysis and if that is not a captive market then no other market is captive. Dollar General is one we have referred to over and over as benefitting from the secular trend of dollar stores as these stores are reaching up to grab customers from traditional retailers.

We would also expect to hear a little bit more about the investing decisions and input from Berkshire’s two new portfolio managers Ted Weschler and Todd Combs.

With extremely large stakes in Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and with those positions now being up near highs again, it will be interesting to see if Buffett addresses these core holdings as keys to the core holdings with higher dividends.

Berkshire Hathaway’s A-shares closed on Thursday at $121,800 against a 52-week range of $98,952.00 to $123,578.00; and the B-shares closed at $81.26 against a 52-week range of $65.35 to $82.47.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Annual Report, Buffett, Compensation, Conglomerates, Dividend, Editor's Picks, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance, Private Equity, Tax Tagged: BRK-A, BRK-B, DG, DVA, GS, IBM, INTC, KO, MSFT, WFC

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ALGN, BHI, CACI, CAB, CHK, DVA, GMCR, LVLT, MSCI, ONXX, PCLN, QCOM, QIHU, CRM, TTM)

Administrator — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:18:17 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Thursday.

Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALGN) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

Baker Hughes, Inc. (NYSE: BHI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

CACI International. Inc. (NYSE: CACI) Cut to Neutral with $53 target at Credit Suisse.

Cabela’s, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) reiterated Strong Buy and named as value stock of the day at Zacks.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) maintained Buy but cut target to $31 from $38 at BofA/ML; Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Cut to Neutral at R.W. Baird.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey; Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) Reiterated Buy with $37.50 target at BofA/ML.

MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI) Raised to Outperform with $42 target at Credit Suisse.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) maintained Buy but removed from Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) reiterated Strong Buy and named the Aggressive Growth stock of the day at Zacks.

QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Reiterated Buy at BofA/ML.

Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd (NYSE: QIHU) Started as Buy at Jefferies.

Salesforce.com Inc. (NASDAQ: CRM) Raised to Outperform with $185 target at Credit Suisse.

Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM) Started as Overweight at HSBC.

If you enjoyed the top analyst upgrades and downgrades, you can join our free email newsletter that includes analyst summaries each morning sent right to your inbox. We also cover top issues such as IPOs, special financial exclusives, mergers and more. Sign up in the box below.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: ALGN, BHI, CAB, CACI, CHK, CRM, DVA, featured, GMCR, LVLT, MSCI, ONXX, PCLN, QCOM, QIHU, TTM

Top Earnings & Economic Previews For The Day Ahead (AAP, APA, AMAT, BIDU, ABX, DTV, DVA, DUK, ELNK, GM, LEAP, TAP, JWN, SPWR, WM, WWWW)

Administrator — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Thursday is a fairly busy day for earnings expectations. We are expecting the following reports: Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP); Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA); Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT); Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU); Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX); DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV); DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA); Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK); EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK); General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM); Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP); Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP); Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN); SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR); Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM); and Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW). We have compiled some basic previews on each along with estimates from Thomson Reuters.

Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) shares almost hit a 52-week high on Wednesday. Estimates are $0.75 EPS and $1.32 billion in sales.

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) $2.87 EPS on $4.3 billion in revenue; watch for news on northern Africa operations.

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) $0.12 EPS on $1.97 billion in sales; next quarter estimates are $0.16 EPS on $2.08 billion in sales. This report will have every chip cap-ex stock elsewhere looking closely.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is the “Google of China’ by many investors… estimates are $0.91 EPS and $700.75 million in sales. Next quarter estimates are $0.83 EPS and $665.9 million in sales. Around $138 it is back in the middle of its 52-week trading range.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: ABX) $1.27 EPS and shares are in the lower half of the 52-week range.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTV) $0.92 EPS on $7.4 billion in sales; Team Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway added shares to the position.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) $1.48 EPS on $1.85 billion in sales; Team Buffett added this as a new position for the Berkshire Hathaway holdings.

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) $0.21 EPS on $3.37 billion in revenue

EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK) is still around and acting as a business broadband provider rather than just a dial-up ISP of the days past. Estimates are $0.04 EPS and $349.23 million in sales.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) $0.41 EPS and $38.2 billion in sales; GM is still a busted IPO but is trading down under 7-times 2012 expected earnings. Value, or value trap?

Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) -$1.11 EPS on $808 million in sales. Watch shares of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS).

Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP) $0.70 EPS

Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) $1.10 EPS on $3.18 billion in sales

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) was the ‘solar buyout that only got partly acquired’ and shares have been bashed. At $7.36, the 52-week range is $4.94 to $23.36. Earnings estimates are -$0.05 EPS on $669 million in sales.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) $0.60 EPS on $3.35 billion in revenue. The 3.8% yield may make more interest than in rival Republic Services.

Web.com Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WWWW) is expected to post $0.23 EPS and $93.95 million in sales. If all goes well, this one trades at less than 10-times expected 2012 earnings. It has been hard to not notice a high degree of advertising out of Web.com of late.

Thursday’s Economic Data:

8:30 AM EST Weekly Jobless Claims (365K est.)

8:30 AM EST January Housing Starts (677K est.)

8:30 AM EST January PPI (+0.4% es.)

9:00 AM EST Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks on community banking

10:00 AM EST Treasury’s Geithner speaks to Senate Budget Committee

10:00 AM EST February Philly Fed

10:30 AM EST Weekly Natural Gas inventories

4:30 PM EST Feb. 15 Foreign Central Bank Treasury Holdings

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Calendar, Earnings Tagged: AAP, ABX, AMAT, APA, BIDU, DTV, DUK, DVA, ELNK, GM, JWN, LEAP, SPWR, TAP, WM, WWWW

Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stock Holdings, A to K (BRK-B, BRK-A, AXP, BK, KO, CVS, CDCO, COP, COST, DVA, DG, GCI, GE, GSK, INTC, IR, IBM, JNJ, KFT, XOM)

Administrator — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:48:43 +0000

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett have just released the latest holdings of U.S.-listed equities as of December 30, 2011. These public stock holdings have been broken down into two groups so it is more concise. Keep in mind that portfolio manager Todd Combs is still relatively new and none of the positions from the newer portfolio manager Ted Weschler will likely be reflected at all in these positions yet as the cut-off date is December 31, 2011.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was over 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was 1,793,915 shares, SAME AS last quarter.
CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is LARGER POSITION at 7.106 million shares after having been a new holding in a recent quarter.
Comdisco Holdings (NASDAQ: CDCO) was roughly 1.5 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.
Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was right at 200 million shares, SAME AS BEFORE.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is roughly 29.1 million shares, roughly the SAME AS BEFORE but it is still lower than previous quarters.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) 4,333,363 Shares, SAME AS last quarter after having lowered it before.
Da Vita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is a NEW POSITION of 2.684 million shares worth $203 million.
DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is a LARGER POSITION listed as 20.348 million shares worth $870 million; was a new position of 4.249 million shares one quarter earlier.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is that SAME SIZE as before at 4.497 million shares; was a new position and a grown position before. This one of our Top Stocks for the Next Decade.
Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was 1.74 million, SAME AS BEFORE but decreased in prior quarters.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) is a LARGER POSITION of 3.877 million shares worth $257 million after being a new position before of 3.064 million shares.
General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is 7.777 million shares; SAME AS before.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) 1.51 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.
Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) was 636,600; SAME AS last quarter but still way down from prior reports.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is a LARGER POSITION of 11.495 million shares worth $278 million; this was a new position of 9.333 million shares last quarter.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is now 63.905 million shares worth some $11.75 billion now after having been a new position with an average cost of about $170 per share.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was a LOWER POSITION of about 29 million shares; lower than 37.4 million last quarter and way under the peak of 62 million shares at one point in prior quarters.
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) was a LOWER POSITION at about 87 million shares, down from 89.7+ million last quarter and this has continued to be lightened up since the Cadbury purchase.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) was ELIMINATED FROM THE PORTFOLIO after having been only 421,800 shares last quarter and lowered earlier.

PAGE TWO…BUFFETT HOLDINGS ‘L to Z’

JON C. OGG

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Buffett, Buffett Holdings, Conglomerates, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance, Private Equity Tagged: AXP, BK, BRK-A, BRK-B, CDCO, COP, COST, CVS, DG, DVA, GCI, GE, GSK, IBM, INTC, IR, JNJ, KFT, KO, XOM

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (DVA, DNDN, GS, HGG, KEY, MCD, MS, ORCL, RF, SBUX, ZNGA)

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:15:28 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street brokerage and research firms this Wednesday morning.

DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) maintained Neutral with $14.00 target at Zacks; Started as Hold at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Energy Partners Limited (NYSE: EPL) named as value stock of the day at Zacks.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
hhgregg, Inc. (NYSE: HGG) maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Underperform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Cut to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer (valuation call).
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Cut to Neutral at Macquarie.
Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) Raised to Outperform at RBC Capital; Cut to Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Zynga, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) Started as Overweight at Barclays; Started as Overweight at JPMorgan; Started as Neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Started as Buy at Goldman Sachs.

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Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: DNDN, DVA, GS, HGG, KEY, MCD, MS, ORCL, RF, SBUX, ZNGA

Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AGN, DVA, DNDN, ENTR, HES, MCD, STX, SKX, S, SWC, TWX, WFM)

Administrator — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:13:01 +0000

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Thursday morning.

Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
DaVita, Inc. (NYSE: DVA) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse; Cut to Neutral at Baird; Cut to Hold at Needham; Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Entropic Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES) Reiterated Buy with $95 target at Argus.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ: STX) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research (late Wednesday call).
Skechers U.S.A. (NYSE: SKX) Called Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) Raised to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC) Kept as Outperform but cut target to $22 at Credit Suisse.
Time Warner. Inc (NYSE: TWX) Reiterated Outperform with $40 target on Focus List at Credit Suisse.
Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Maintained Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

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JON C. OGG

Filed under: Analyst Calls Tagged: AGN, DNDN, DVA, ENTR, HES, MCD, S, SKX, STX, SWC, TWX, WFM