Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Briggs & Stratton Corporation (BGG)?

Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. BGG investors should pay attention to a decrease in hedge fund sentiment of late. There were 11 hedge funds in our database with BGG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to monitor their holdings. Two of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can beat the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are many motivations for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a look at the recent action regarding Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG).

How have hedgies been trading Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -18% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates had the largest position in Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG), worth close to $15.9 million, comprising less than 0.1%% of its total 13F portfolio. On Royce & Associates’s heels is Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, which held a $14.5 million position; 0.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedgies that are bullish include Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Paul Tudor Jones’s Tudor Investment Corp.

Since Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the entirety of the hedge funds we track, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few hedgies who were dropping their positions entirely at the end of the first quarter. Intriguingly, John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies sold off the biggest investment of the 450+ funds we watch, comprising an estimated $38.4 million in stock.. Jim Simons’s fund, Renaissance Technologies, also sold off its stock, about $2.5 million worth. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 2 funds at the end of the first quarter.

How are insiders trading Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG)?

Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 8 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 Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG). These stocks are Luxfer Holdings PLC (ADR) (NYSE:LXFR), Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI), Edwards Group Ltd (NASDAQ:EVAC), AIXTRON SE (ADR) (NASDAQ:AIXG), and MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI). All of these stocks are in the diversified machinery industry and their market caps resemble BGG’s market cap.

With the results shown by our research, retail investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG) is no exception.

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