Point72 Asset Management, Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio)’s asset management firm, opened three major positions in the final months of the year.
Cohen’s largest position of the quarter was in biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN, Financial), followed by Hyatt Hotels Corp. (H, Financial) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD, Financial).
Cohen had a 40% turnover in his stock portfolio from the third quarter. All told, he started 291 new positions of a total 876 picks. His portfolio is worth $23 billion.
The Connecticut-based firm is heavily invested in consumer cyclical stocks, health care and energy, which make up roughly more than half of the portfolio. The other half is in technology, industrials, financial services and basic materials. Real estate, communication services and consumer defensive make up a small part of the portfolio.
Other new buys that had a smaller impact on the portfolio included Walt Disney Co. (DIS, Financial), AutoZone Inc. (AZO, Financial), Masimo Corp. (MASI, Financial) and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM, Financial).
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Cohen has had a long buy-and-sell record with the biotech company that develops medication for serious conditions, such as high cholesterol and macular degeneration. The company’s headquarters is in Terrytown, New York.
He bought 482,000 shares in the fourth quarter for an average price of $405 a share. The new position takes up about 0.78% portfolio space.
The last time he owned shares of the biotech company was in the second quarter of last year. At peak, he’s held up to 100,000 shares. Cohen first began buying shares of the company when it was priced at $92 a share in the first quarter of 2012.
The company has a $36 billion market cap. It has seen consistent revenue growth over the last 15 years, though earnings per share have slid during recessionary years. The company reported earnings per share of over $10 in 2017 compared to more than $7 in the prior year.
The company has seen operating margins rise over the past several years to over 35% in 2017.
GuruFocus ranks it 8 out of 10 in financial strength and in profitability and growth.
It has a price-earnings ratio of 32.69 versus a median of 29.82, a price-book ratio of 5.91 versus a median of 4.51 and a price-sales ratio of 6.66.
Hyatt Hotels
Cohen purchased a total of 2 million shares of the Chicago-based hotel franchise. He paid about $67.56 a share in the fourth quarter.
Less than a month ago, he added an additional 357,000 shares, which brings his total to 2.4 million shares. The position sits in about 0.65% portfolio space.
Hyatt has seen steady revenue growth over the last decade. Its revenue growth per share is $37 in the trailing 12 months.
Earnings per share have been mostly flat since 2014, when they hit $2.42 a share. In 2017, earnings per share hit $1.99, up over $1.52 in the prior year.
Operating margins also have been mostly flat in recent years at 6% to 7% from 2014 to 2017. In 2009, they hit a peak of over 10%.
One of its biggest concerns is its growing debt. Long-term debt ballooned to over $1.4 billion in 2017. The company had $794 million in debt in 2007.
GuruFocus ranks it 6 in financial strength and 8 in profitability and growth. The top score is a 10.
The company has market cap of $9 billion.
Anheuser Busch
In the fourth quarter, Cohen purchased 1.28 million shares of the St. Louis-based beer manufacturer for an average price of $117.68 a share.
Cohen has a long history with this company. But the last time he sold out of the company was in the third quarter of 2016.
The beer company has been piling on large amounts of long-term debt over the years. In 2017, the company reported debt of $114 million in 2016 compared to $2.7 billion in 2003.
Its operating margins have seen slight decline since 2015. In 2017, it reported 6.45% compared to the prior year’s 6.75%
It reported steady growth in revenue per share over the last five years. In 2017, revenue per share was at $37 compared to $33 the prior year.
Its price-earnings ratio is 26.89 compared with a median of 25.64. Its price-book ratio is 3.02 compared with a median of 2.33 and its price-sales ratio is 3.39 compared with the median 2.23.
The company has a market cap of $184 billion.
It is rated 4 of 10 in financial strength and 5 of 10 in profitability and growth.
