Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. CATM investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with CATM positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics shareholders can use to track Mr. Market. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outperform the market by a superb amount (see just how much).
Just as key, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the world of equities. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of motivations for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if you understand what to do (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a glance at the key action regarding Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM).
What does the smart money think about Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM)?
At year’s end, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 29% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially.
According to our comprehensive database, David Gallo’s Valinor Management LLC had the most valuable position in Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM), worth close to $28.9 million, accounting for 1.2% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $11.5 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
As aggregate interest increased, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Millennium Management, managed by Israel Englander, established the most outsized position in Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM). Millennium Management had 2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also made a $0.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Mike Vranos’s Ellington and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
How have insiders been trading Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time period, Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM) has experienced 1 unique insiders buying, and 5 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM). These stocks are Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT), VistaPrint Limited (NASDAQ:VPRT), ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ABM), Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE:HPY), and Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG). All of these stocks are in the business services industry and their market caps are closest to CATM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| VistaPrint Limited (NASDAQ:VPRT) | 9 | 3 | 3 |
| ABM Industries, Inc. (NYSE:ABM) | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE:HPY) | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
With the results demonstrated by our time-tested strategies, retail investors should always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM) is an important part of this process.
