By Mackenzie Tatananni
Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund by assets under management, made key changes to its portfolio in the fourth quarter that included exiting a major wireless carrier and readjusting its healthcare holdings.
A securities filing last week shows the fund exited Affirm Holdings through the sale of the 8,860 shares it snapped up before the end of the third quarter. Shares of the financial technology company have gotten hammered over the past few months due to trepidation over artificial-intelligence disruption and the broader macroeconomic environment.
Bridgewater's stake, which was worth $647,489 last November, would be worth $459,125 based on Thursday's closing price of $51.82.
Bridgewater also sold its stake of 37,777 shares in AT&T during the fourth quarter. The stock had a volatile 2025, but Bridgewater missed a significant bounce on Jan. 28, when the carrier's fourth-quarter earnings report kicked off a rally that has sent shares 21% higher since the end of last month.
The firm took a stake in Dell Technologies through the purchase of 156,332 shares, a stake in Caterpillar through the purchase of 62,157 shares, and a stake in Spotify Technology through the purchase of 23,540 shares.
Bridgewater also made several moves in the healthcare and pharmaceutical universe. The fund exited beleaguered insurer Elevance Health through the sale of 55,203 shares. Bridgewater simultaneously took a small stake in UnitedHealth Group through the purchase of 6,170 shares, worth around $1.8 million on Thursday.
The firm appeared to be buying a prolonged dip in shares of the world's largest healthcare provider, which have cratered more than 43% over the past 12 months amid surging costs in UnitedHealth's Medicare Advantage plans and a string of underwhelming earnings reports.
Separately, Bridgewater unloaded all of its 138,947 shares in Novo Nordisk and slashed its Moderna holdings to 15,181 shares from 222,210 at the end of the third quarter. The fund boosted its stake in Eli Lilly to 73,292 shares from just 10,441.
Lilly, which is regarded as the market leader in weight-loss drugs, surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization for the third time earlier this month, with the first instance occurring on Nov. 21, 2025.
Barron's reached out to Bridgewater for comment on the holdings changes.
The asset management firm was founded by Wall Street veteran Ray Dalio in 1975. It continues to be associated with his name, even though Dalio sold his remaining ownership stake and departed the board in 2025 to conclude a multiyear succession process.
Inside Scoop is a regular Barron's feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members -- so-called insiders -- as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 20, 2026 08:56 ET (13:56 GMT)
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