AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) investors probably track spectrum statistics, P/E ratios, market share breakdowns, and every metric under the sun. In this article, we’d like to add a couple more to the discussion.
To many of your fellow readers, hedge funds are viewed as delayed, old investment tools of a period lost to current times. Although there are more than 8,000 hedge funds trading currently, Insider Monkey aim at the top tier of this group, close to 525 funds. It is assumed that this group oversees the lion’s share of the smart money’s total assets, and by watching their best stock picks, we’ve spotted a number of investment strategies that have historically outpaced Mr. Market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have beaten the S&P 500 index by 33 percentage points in 11 months (find a sample of our picks).
Just as necessary, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to analyze the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many motivations for an insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s important to study the newest info about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T).
How have hedgies been trading AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)?
Heading into Q3, a total of 38 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 9% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly.
According to our 13F database, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the most valuable position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Fisher Asset Management has a $226 million position in the stock, comprising 0.6% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $181.1 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers with similar optimism include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.
As aggregate interest spiked, certain bigger names were breaking ground themselves. Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, assembled the most outsized position in AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Fisher Asset Management had 226 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management also made a $181.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.
How have insiders been trading AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)?
Legal insider trading, particularly when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time period, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also take a look at the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). These stocks are Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ:WIN), CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL), Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:CHT), BCE Inc. (USA) (NYSE:BCE), and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). This group of stocks are in the telecom services – domestic industry and their market caps match T’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ:WIN) | 11 | 4 | 1 |
| CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL) | 18 | 1 | 3 |
| Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:CHT) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| BCE Inc. (USA) (NYSE:BCE) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) | 45 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by our analyses, regular investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
