ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately.
At the moment, there are dozens of methods investors can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most underrated 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 elite hedge fund managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a significant amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the investments you’re interested in. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of incentives for an insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the latest action regarding ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG).
What does the smart money think about ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -12% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the largest position in ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG). Citadel Investment Group has a $222 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. On Citadel Investment Group’s heels is Adage Capital Management, managed by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, which held a $178 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other peers that are bullish include Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies.
Due to the fact that ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has witnessed falling interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there were a few funds who sold off their full holdings last quarter. Intriguingly, Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital dropped the largest position of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, comprising about $8 million in stock., and Israel Englander of Catapult Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dumped about $7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest dropped by 3 funds last quarter.
Insider trading activity in ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is best served when the company in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest half-year time frame, ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the results shown by Insider Monkey’s studies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is an important part of this process.
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