Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM) was in 14 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of December. SWM investors should be aware of a decrease in hedge fund interest in recent months. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with SWM holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In the financial world, there are many indicators shareholders can use to watch publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a solid amount (see just how much).
Equally as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you understand where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action regarding Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM).
How have hedgies been trading Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -7% from the third quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the biggest position in Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM). Renaissance Technologies has a $5 million position in the stock, comprising less than 1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Whitebox Advisors, managed by Andy Redleaf, which held a $4 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions 
Seeing as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM) has faced falling interest from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that decided to sell off their entire stakes last quarter. Interestingly, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management cut the biggest investment of all the hedgies we key on, totaling close to $2 million in stock.. Peter Algert and Kevin Coldiron’s fund, Algert Coldiron Investors, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1 million worth. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds last quarter.
How are insiders trading Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM)?
Bullish insider trading is most useful when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest 180-day time period, Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM). These stocks are Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP), P.H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE:GLT), KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (NYSE:KS), Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI), and Clearwater Paper Corp (NYSE:CLW). This group of stocks belong to the paper & paper products industry and their market caps resemble SWM’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Resolute Forest Products Inc (NYSE:RFP) | 21 | 2 | 0 |
| P.H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE:GLT) | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. (NYSE:KS) | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Buckeye Technologies Inc. (NYSE:BKI) | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Clearwater Paper Corp (NYSE:CLW) | 10 | 0 | 0 |
With the returns shown by our time-tested strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (NYSE:SWM) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
