Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) was in 23 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. IPG has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds in recent months. There were 29 hedge funds in our database with IPG holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Equally as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are plenty of incentives for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG).
What does the smart money think about Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG)?
At year’s end, a total of 23 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -21% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings significantly.
Of the funds we track, Ariel Investments, managed by John W. Rogers, holds the most valuable position in Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG). Ariel Investments has a $187 million position in the stock, comprising 3.9% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is David Cohen and Harold Levy of Iridian Asset Management, with a $159 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that hold long positions include Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Jean-Marie Eveillard’s First Eagle Investment Management.
Seeing as Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of money managers that slashed their full holdings in Q4. At the top of the heap, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC said goodbye to the biggest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at about $82 million in stock.. Robert Joseph Caruso’s fund, Select Equity Group, also dumped its stock, about $30 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 6 funds in Q4.
Insider trading activity in Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time frame, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) applies perfectly to this mantra.
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