Warren Buffett, Ray Dalio's Hedge Funds Are Selling Top-Ranking Dividend King

One top-ranked dividend king was a popular sell amid hedge fund billionaires in the third quarter this year. This fact came to light in recent 13F filings from the whales of Wall Street.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ is among the biggest pharmaceutical companies worldwide, with approximately 130,000 employees globally. It has won accolades for being Fortune’s World's Most Admired Company in 2023.

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Johnson & Johnson has a history of over 60 years of generating shareholder returns in the form of dividends, according to Time. Johnson & Johnson stock generates a dividend yield of 3.17%.

It is also a popular ‘sell” stock amid the hedge fund community, according to the latest third-quarter 13F filings.

In the third quarter, the number of hedge funds holding Johnson & Johnson stock in their top 10 holdings decreased by 16.36%. The number of hedge funds that closed out their positions in JNJ stock increased by 5.26%, while those that reduced their holdings increased by 18.78%.

Ray Dalio‘s Bridgewater Associates sold $424 million in Johnson & Johnson stock in the third-quarter, the firm’s second largest sale by market value. Bridgewater’s portfolio now has a 2.56% allocation to the stock. It previously stood at 3.25%.

Warren Buffett‘s Bershire Hathaway Inc BRK BRK closed out its position in Johnson & Johnson stock this quarter.

Lazard Asset Management sold off $1.13 billion in Johnson & Johnson stock, bringing down its portfolio allocation from 2.16% to 1.55%.

Alliancebernstein sold off 1.2 million Johnson & Johnson shares to reduce its holding from 0.49% to 0.4%.

An upcoming patent expiration of Stelara, one of its bestselling products, is presenting a challenge to one of Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical divisions. Another significant problem for the business is litigation. Are these headwinds deterring hedge fund moguls from staying invested in one of biggest pharmaceutical companies?

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