Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (FMX)?

Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX) was in 22 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. FMX has seen a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 24 hedge funds in our database with FMX holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of gauges market participants can use to analyze stocks. A duo of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can trounce the market by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the financial markets. There are many reasons for an upper level exec to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if “monkeys” know where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, let’s take a look at the recent action regarding Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX).

How have hedgies been trading Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 22 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -8% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital had the most valuable position in Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX), worth close to $136 million, comprising 1.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Christopher R. Hansen of Valiant Capital, with a $64.9 million position; 7.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Michael Larson’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.

Seeing as Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX) has witnessed bearish sentiment from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s easy to see that there exists a select few funds who were dropping their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Paul Hudson’s Glade Brook Capital Partners cut the largest position of the 450+ funds we monitor, totaling close to $4.4 million in stock., and Bruce Kovner of Caxton Associates LP was right behind this move, as the fund said goodbye to about $1.5 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds last quarter.

Insider trading activity in Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX)

Bullish insider trading is best served when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (ADR) (NYSE:FMX). These stocks are Boston Beer Co Inc (NYSE:SAM), Compania Cervecerias Unidas S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCU), Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP), Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (ADR) (NYSE:ABV), and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD). This group of stocks are in the beverages – brewers industry and their market caps resemble FMX’s market cap.