Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (AGII): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. AGII investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. There were 9 hedge funds in our database with AGII holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are tons of indicators investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best fund managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Equally as beneficial, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are a number of reasons for an upper level exec to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if investors know what to do (learn more here).

Now, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII).

What have hedge funds been doing with Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 33% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, holds the most valuable position in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII). Pzena Investment Management has a $36.4 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, which held a $18.5 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other peers that hold long positions include Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management, SAC Subsidiary’s CR Intrinsic Investors and Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management.

Consequently, some big names were breaking ground themselves. AQR Capital Management, managed by Cliff Asness, established the most valuable position in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII). AQR Capital Management had 12.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Brian Taylor’s Pine River Capital Management also made a $3.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AGII investors: Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.

Insider trading activity in Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII)

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII). These stocks are Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE), Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH), Tower Group International Ltd (NASDAQ:TWGP), FBL Financial Group (NYSE:FFG), and MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE:MTG). All of these stocks are in the property & casualty insurance industry and their market caps are closest to AGII’s market cap.

With the returns exhibited by our research, everyday investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:AGII) is no exception.

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