Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Dividend King Loses Some of its Hedge Fund Subjects

How have hedgies been trading Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)?

Heading into 2016, a total of 72 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a 3% decline from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially (or had already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the largest position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Fisher Asset Management has a $1.11 billion position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Donald Yacktman of Yacktman Asset Management, with a $751.5 million position; the fund has 5.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other members of the smart money that hold long positions consist of First Eagle Investment Management, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management.

Because Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has experienced falling interest from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few hedge funds that elected to cut their full holdings heading into 2016. Intriguingly, Malcolm Fairbairn’s Ascend Capital cut the largest stake of all the hedgies monitored by Insider Monkey, valued at about $56.9 million in call options. Matthew Hulsizer’s fund, PEAK6 Capital Management, also dropped its call options, about $25.1 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds heading into 2016.

The last page of this article will reveal the hedge fund activity in companies with market capitalizations similar to that of Johnson & Johnson.