Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) has experienced a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.
In today’s marketplace, there are many indicators investors can use to track Mr. Market. Some of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. As the old adage goes: there are many reasons for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a gander at the latest action encompassing Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM).
Hedge fund activity in Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM)
In preparation for this year, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -25% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings significantly.
According to our comprehensive database, Fisher Asset Management, managed by Ken Fisher, holds the largest position in Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM). Fisher Asset Management has a $50.1 million position in the stock, comprising 0.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, which held a $15.7 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.
Due to the fact that Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) has faced falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there were a few money managers that slashed their entire stakes in Q4. It’s worth mentioning that Roberto Mignone’s Bridger Management cut the largest position of all the hedgies we watch, totaling about $10.2 million in stock., and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell of Arrowstreet Capital was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $1.8 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds in Q4.
How have insiders been trading Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM). These stocks are China New Borun Corp (NYSE:BORN), Craft Brew Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:BREW), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP), Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCU), and Vina Concha y Toro S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:VCO). All of these stocks are in the beverages – brewers industry and their market caps are closest to SAM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| China New Borun Corp (NYSE:BORN) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craft Brew Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:BREW) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP) | 22 | 0 | 6 |
| Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCU) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Vina Concha y Toro S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:VCO) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns shown by Insider Monkey’s time-tested strategies, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM) is an important part of this process.
